Black and White
by sorry.no-names
Summary: My version of an OC from earth winding up on Remnant and trying to stop the Fall the long way around. Spoilers and lore used from V1-V4. mild themes and language used along with stereotypical RWBY Violence. Pairing undecided. be warned, this is my first published Fanfiction. m for violence to come
1. Chapter 1 Arrival

Chapter 1 Arrival

I Do Not Own RWBY or RWBY characters

"speech" 'Character Thought'

* * *

It's been years since he thought about the beginning. People always wonder where they came from, where they'll end up. Where do new souls come from? Where do dead ones go. He always thought his religion had it pegged, Heaven was a great incentive to believe in an afterlife. Reincarnation? Not high on his list ('who would want to come back to this place?').

However, it was still on the list.

One minute he was setting up his restaurant, the next he was looking up at a woman's face.

('what?')

Not bad for a first thought, really.

His first week of life was the roughest, mourning the family he had unintentionally left behind. His first year of life, however, was…normal. Speech was tricky ('ever noticed how much muscle control goes into moving one's lips correctly?'). He developed fast seeing as he had mannerisms from twenty-three years of his previous life.

Remembering his first life was the most difficult part of growing up ('except diapers, screw those'). As it turns out, new lives did not mean a clean slate. He would never be able to lead a normal life. He could lie, dumb down his speech enough to pull it off, but repeating said trait by action was beyond him.

('Great, a life as a nerd again, woohoo.')

Then things…changed. There he was, stumbling along age one, maybe halfway to two, then he looked up…and fells on his butt.

('Why…')

He knew where he was…

('The moon…')

He knows what would happen (or maybe what already happened)

('The moon is broken…...fuck.')

Remnant. he wound up on one of the most dangerous planets this side of fiction…

('Great. now 16 years till I can actually do something about this bullshit…gotta get rid of the cursing habit too.')

Of course, he wasn't alone in his household.

* * *

His mother, Sno Bianco was a kind woman who liked likes cold colors…a lot. Her theme was everywhere. Couch, rug, dishes, walls. Different shades, some subtle, others…not so subtle. Guess it matched her eyes, so she made it her theme and color scheme ('like every other person in this world'). Oddly enough she had green hair, but the shades seemed to compliment in his eyes Made it seem darker, yet pleasant.

His father, Charles Bianco, was…interesting? His color was darker, as his attitude more…relaxed. He was a huntsman, his weapon was a blade with the appearance of a scimitar, but it was heavier, especially the end. A Falchion. He always corrected anyone that called it scimitar. It shifted into a shotgun and he would use it to add a kick to his swing. "to chop the head off the big bad Grimm" he would say.

He'd go out to work and mother would stay home, at least most days. He was a guard type Huntsman while his mother was a farmer (best coffee farmer in the kingdom of Vale according to her clients). Our little hero would often sit off to the side with his building blocks, not near any tools, but close enough to keep an eye on.

Their clients would sometimes stop and stare at the boy, either in dislike ('I won't blame them, young kids are annoying') or surprised that Sno would have him so close to her. They would comment, ask if he was okay outside for so long, which was touching that they would care so much.

Mom always waved them off. He never cried…almost never ('diapers suck'), and in either life he hated to be a bother. He wouldn't subject them to sleepless nights if he could help it. He didn't wish to scare them off more children if they wanted them. He was lonely, remembering the brothers he had in his last life. Both were older, but they were there until they moved out. So, no terrible twos for the Biancos. Just peace and calm loving Cole.

Cole. Cole Bianco ('…really. Godammit'). Clashing as the name was, he was determined to make it suit him. His electric blue eyes were bright with dark spots and he had a wisp of dark hair that was growing out the top of his head.

His life was simple. However, by three, the Biancos were sure he was a genius, he was reading. Although he often stumbled, ('even with my knowledge my body had to catch up to my words'). But with written words he could go so much further. About 90% of what he read were fairy tales ('I loved fiction then, I love fiction now') but still.

"Something wrong son?" sadly this wasn't the first time Charles had asked him that. After a while they got used to him reading every chance he got. But when he got to the four maidens…he just froze.

"No daddy" Cole replied. He always said that, but could never face them, not with what he knew, not with that story.

"If you have trouble with that one, I could always read it to you." He said once. "it's been ages since one of us read to you".

The offer sat for a while in silence. "I'd like that" he said and so he, and Sno who was around the corner got together to read it. They switched readers per person…Cole listened to every word, making sure to burn it in his mind and thanked them when they finished.

"Didn't like that one?" asked mom.

"It feels weird. Different from the others." he shook his head. 'Get it in gear Cole (three years, finally used to that name)'. He put his finger to his chin "but not a bad story. Glad the Old man left his house. No one should stay inside too long. I wonder if he still takes care of it"

"It's just a story son", Said Charles ruffling Cole's hair, "and an old one at that. I doubt he would still be around"

"He could with magic!" he said, pouting.

"Sweetie" his mom said laughing. It must sound ridiculous to hear their genius son believing in magic. It sounds ridiculous to him too, but he knew. **He knew.**

"We'll have guests soon" Said Father, "They should arrive by tomorrow"

"Coming straight here then?" Asked my mom, and Cole just turned his head to the side.

"Who's coming? Friends?" he asked. This far from the city, guests were rare.

"Your father's boss." Said Mom. Cole sat up straight.

"And his new assistant" Father quipped.

Charles is a hunter, so his guild? Either his CO or...

"Tomorrow?" asked Cole.

There was a knock at the door.

"That message may have been a bit late" Charles got fairly pale when scared

His worries were validated as he answered the door.

Standing on the other side was THE Professor Ozpin. He had silver colored hair and amber colored eyes. He wore a dark green long sleeve vest with a green scarf around his neck and dark green pants. He was holding an intricate cane in one hand, and what looked like a bottle of wine in the other.

'not gonna lie, I expected coffee.' Thought Cole. At his side was, as expected, a younger Glynda Goodwitch. She had blonde hair and blue eyes and was wearing a white blouse and black skirt. She also wore a purple cloak that was shaped like arrows at the end.

"Sno, Charles, it is good to see the two of you" greeted the Huntress, she carried another bottle of what Cole assumed to be wine into the house as she entered.

"It's good to see you too" returned father, "honestly it was quite the surprise to see you in person. Normally you would just send requests, and is this your newest assistant?"

"This is Glynda Goodwitch, and if she continues to excel, she may take the position of Headmistress one day." He stated as Glynda stood a little more proudly. "As for our visit, we were nearby, and believe we should save a request form and delivery time"

'The coffee' Cole realized 'yeah he'd save the form, and the delivery cost, and the delivery time. of course,'. Mom grew the best coffee. Ever.

"And this must be little Cole" said Ozpin, getting down to his level. Three years and it was still stunning how tall Remnant people are. He noticed the book Cole had, "Reading already? My what a smart boy. What story is that".

He had almost forgotten he had this in his hands, but just barely stuttered out: "The tale of the four maidens",

"Oh? And what did you think of it?"

And here it was, his chance to get known, or at least to make sure Ozpin knows to watch out for him. He glanced back at his mother and father chatting with a surprisingly approachable Goodwitch. "It's different…from the other fairytales" he said, adding the last bit when he saw the huntsman questioning his answer.

"Really" he said with a knowing smirk. "how so?"

Cole shrug "it doesn't feel like a fairy tale. It feels…more"

He saw the man's smile dim a bit before returning and to the other adults and reminding them that he was there. Cole put his book down and left for a puzzle he had nearby ('100 pieces cause I haven't gotten a bigger one'). 'Job done, I guess' He thought 'Now I gotta grow up, train and stop the FALL…yippee'. Sadly, that thought stayed with him until the professor had to leave.

"Such a bright boy" Said Goodwitch on the way out, "maybe you'll find your way to Beacon someday".

"I will!" he called out, startling his parents who never heard him get so loud, "I'll be a hero, just like you and dad". Dad smiled and blushed at that. Mom…not so much. Seems like our hero's goal to becoming a huntsman might not be as smooth a path as he had thought it would be.

* * *

This is my first fic, so I appreciate criticism and ideas. I don't have a beta reader, so I would appreciate someone helping my grammar usage.

inspired by reiteration and many more fanfiction authors like: Coeur Al'Aran, Imyoshi, PotNpaN, and many more

Rewrite finished 12/06. Because I needed to take a step back from my character's first person POV


	2. Chapter 2 Training Begins

Chapter 2 Training Begins

"words" 'thoughts'

I do not own RWBY or any characters. So far only the Bianco family is mine

* * *

So, it's been years since Ozpin's visit, and although their coffee orders never stopped ('they honestly helped pay for my schooling') they never came back themselves.

School had been just as difficult as Cole expected: once again he was the nerd who knew too much to be normal. The only real difference is this time, none of the others could hold a candle to him.

After he had started school Cole begged his father to start training. He was reluctant, and his mother was even more so. She didn't want Cole to become a huntsman, tried to entice him any way she could. It was only after denying him Ice cream, books and many different types of toys did they agree to start his training when Cole turned 8.

Cole, however, wasn't that naïve.

Instead he asked to join the common sports teams, something his mother jumped at right away, anything that moved him away from being a huntsman. She didn't consider that the exercises are to prepare Cole for training anyways. Three years of that and both Cole's little brothers were just old enough to bring to his tournaments. ('I had brothers! Still feels odd being the older one. Now I had to set a good example for the twins... I can do this.')

In almost no time, Cole had hit eight and reminded his parents of their promise. They had…mixed reactions. Dad was nervous about him being a Huntsman. The world wasn't like the story books he would say, there might not always be a happy ending.

In response, Cole handed him the most realistic origin of a children's story he found. It stunned him that Cole had been reading such a dark story, but it had the effect intended. Cole told him: "I know the world isn't a nice place". It hurt to have to show him how much he knew, but he held little back when he explained how much he wanted, not to live a happy life, but make sure everyone else lives a happy ever after. Cole told him how he knew Charles scars (no matter how hard he tried to hide them) hurt, to get and to live with.

Sno was even harder to convince. She had listened to his explanation to father, and if anything, she felt it reinforced her opinion he had to find a different path.

Cole didn't give her much of a chance for an argument. When he saw she wasn't going to budge, and dad wouldn't without her, he began his own training with a bokken and any book he could possibly get his hands on.

After years of going to the library, Cole's reputation with the librarians was as high as it could be. They knew him, better than his parents to some degree. So, they weren't really surprised when Cole told them he wanted to start his training. They wouldn't help him directly, though, it'd be disrespectful to his parents, but he still checked out as many books as he could. His sports training was helpful, but hunter training was so much more.

Cole's parents weren't happy to see him start without them, especially Mom, although Dad was proud to see him take the initiative.

He wasn't going to budge on this, he knew what was going to happen. He knew of Cinder, Emerald and Mercury. he knew about the maidens, and the Gods. He knew of Salem.

He was lucky he had at least some idea how much time he had left. Yang and Ruby helped. Their father was a professional Hunter. Summer too. He could look them up to see how far they are. He was able to watch Pyrrha and her Tournaments too, easy bets to win some money for later.

But his biggest clue was that the White Fang was still Peaceful. It looked like he ended up at minimum 5 years or more before Cannon. That meant Blake's father was still leader.

He got a more accurate time line when he ran into a few protests by accident ('shut up I am not directionally challenged'). He had hopes that maybe he could affect what happens with how he treated Faunus and how he demanded they be treated in front of him, but it's not like a child's voice changed much.

Imagine his surprise when in a world full of wonder, he ran into a certain young cat Faunus and her parents.

At mid-way through eight, he saw what had to be a seven-year-old Blake Belladonna. This answered his question. He had arrived a year earlier than the rest of RWBY and JNPR. ('I keep saying arrived, but birthed sounds so wrong'.) He was surprised. He didn't think he'd meet the team. he hoped, but he didn't think there was a real chance to talk to them, especially before cannon.

She was part of a protest, younger and more active than Cole ever actually seen her in cannon. She was holding a sign when she was knocked by some guy behind her. He ran to help her up and she was surprised to see him help her.

'Probably because I'm a human', he thought. He picked her up, snagging her sign and handing it back to her and said: "Good luck. We'll change things, you'll see".

He never found out if she heard him or not over the sound of the protest, but he did see her run back to her mom. She wasn't hurt, but her mother would fret over her daughter, injury or not.

Still, eventful meeting or not, it gave him an accurate measure of how much time he had left. With Blake, a rough 7 years old, that means he had 5 years until the White Fang changed, then 5 more until Beacon… and the FALL.

'But we won't fall' he thought as he swung his bokken again. 'I wouldn't let them fall…I won't let US fall'

"You won't change your mind?"

Cole heard her approach, but he didn't turn until she spoke. It was kind of upsetting that he was the only one to keep their promise, but she was his mother, so he responded as politely as he could, "No. I wanted to be a hero before, and now." he put down his practice sword. The weights he put in the handle made every swing a pain, the point he guessed, so the break was welcomed.

"Won't change your mind for anything?" she asked

'she's up to something' his Mom was devious. She always got the best deals with her coffee beans, and thought of roundabout ways to punish his brothers for their mischief. "If I gave up now, I wouldn't be fit enough to be a Huntsman"

She nodded and started walking away.

"Then training starts tomorrow"

He was stunned. he never saw her give up on a deal, no matter who tried dealing with her

'I still haven't, have I?' his eyes narrowed as she walked away. An old bit of advice he kept saying in his past life came back to him as he started packing his equipment away.

Paranoia is your friend

Worst part is, he was right.

The first week of training was the worst hell he'd ever gone through, in any life. He was beaten, broken, bent in ways he could never have imagined existed. He remembered the characters doing unimaginable flips and midair turns and insane landing strategies, honestly, he should have expected this.

He never screamed. Never cried out too much and never out right cried. He refused to. His pride, the one thing beside his memories he brought over from his first world… in some ways, the last thing the old him still had, refused to let him give up.

Week two didn't change much and by week three he almost grew used to it.

"Still at it?" the entire time his mother never mentioned his training. She wouldn't speak for him and wouldn't tell his father he went too far even if he came back bruised and slightly bloody.

Still, Cole smiled through cracked lips, "of course not. Grimm wouldn't stop at this, huntsmen don't either"

She frowned. Cole knew it hurt her to see him like this. He had to push through, this was his last test before training got pushed even farther.

"Police save people." She said, "Doctors save people, even lawyers save people. Why do you have to be a Huntsman?"

"That lawyer comment isn't gonna help any argument", Cole snip back, "none of those do enough. A doctor can save one, two, maybe three people a day. And I would say police are more about stopping bad people than saving good ones. Fire fighters can save a few dozen from a fire, not that you mention them" Cole said, a dead pan look on his face as he added the last one. ('firefighters don't get enough love')

"So why do you have to be a Huntsman?" she begged.

Cole stopped smiling. He felt his age for the first time in years. 23 years on Earth. Almost nine on Remnant. He felt older than he should. 'Nothing new I guess. I always acted like an old man. Guess now I am old'

"They all save a few." He let his memories flow, every scene he remembered, every commentary, every person they lost. Pyrrha, Penny…gods knew how many people in Vale. "I want to save more than that. Be more than that."

Cole could see her argument. On Earth he wanted to be a teacher. Thought if he could teach the next generation he could help save so much more than just a few people. He could set them up and help them build the best generation possible. 'Idealistic, maybe even childish, but that was my dream'

It's kinda sad three weeks in he could tell he was a better fighter than he was a teacher.

She sighed, she knew he wouldn't let this go, and she and dad couldn't keep this up. His siblings were starting to get really upset about his daily state ('to my defense I thought my cuts stopped bleeding after I washed up upstairs').

The next week marked his first month of training. Charles had resumed the hell training, if anything, it was getting worse. At least that was his assumption when he got slammed through the side of the barn instead of the ground.

"Cole!" he heard from outside his debris mound.

"I'm good!" he answered back. At least, he started to, until he noticed the size of the piece of wall sticking out of his leg. "scratch that, I may need some help!"

Six inches sticking out of his leg, who knows how much inside, "In a minute this is gonna hurt!" he tells his father as he dug out the injured boy. Cole barely manage to get that out when the burning started. He grit his teeth as his leg started to burn from the wound outwards.

They got Cole to the house and tore through his pants leg to get at the pole. This far from the city, the hospital would be a waste of time. Charles was trained past first aid anyways. Still, Sno called the local doctor and dad started treatment before he even got there.

The whole thing had been a big scare for no reason. Cole was afraid his dad would reconsider training him, so the moment everyone's back was turned he told his brother, Jet (damn you Remnant), to stash his training weights and hide them under his bed, just within reach.

The doc was late but declared pretty much what everyone thought it was, a flesh wound, that'd clear up in a week, ready for training in two. When he asked what Cole had been doing, he was surprised to hear it was huntsman training.

"Without protection?" he asked.

"Mom and dad have been trying to convince me to quit. They think I'll reconsider so they haven't unlocked my Aura" Cole reasoned. He had worked it out week two. The only reason they wouldn't unlock his Aura was to make sure he could change his mind. It'd explain his harsh training too. There just wasn't another reason to push an 8-year-old this far.

"So, you've been training to be a Huntsman, without Aura?" asked the Doctor, shocked.

Cole frowned. "I'll have Aura, I just have to last until mom and dad actually accept I'm going to be a Huntsman"

"So, you're taking a beating, to become a Huntsman" he stated.

Cole laughed sardonically, "Every trainee takes a beating to become a Huntsman".

"From their parents?"

At this point Cole was pretty sure the Doc was trying to figure out how crazy the impact made him was, so he shrugged, "Better my dad than a grimm, at least he probably won't kill me".

He laughed his way out and Cole sat there in an awkward silence until his dad made his way in.

"If your gonna apologize, you really don't need to" faking childhood left him with some residual guilt.

"You knew about Aura?"

'ah…should have made sure they couldn't hear me…oops'

"Pretty much every book I've ever read mentions the Huntsmen's power, even if it's censored"

Turns out Aura is censored in most books. Makes sense, if every criminal could use Aura, the police would never catch anyone. That's not even considering any Semblance a criminal could have.

Suddenly Jaune's back story makes more sense. He hadn't read between the lines, so he didn't know about it. 'Which reminds me of something I had to add to my to-do list. His family visits Anima and having run away to Beacon meant he had to be somewhere between Beacon and Shion.'

Dad looked guilty. "we wanted you to think about what you wanted to grow up to be"

"And I did, Dad. If you think this can stop me, you're wrong"

"There's no going back once I unlock your Aura".

There was no going back before. "I'm ready" he says.

"No, but you will be" he corrects, "there are many chants given when one has their Aura unlocked. This is the one given to me by my teacher, my father" he put his hand on Cole's chest and a second to his face: "Take with you the armaments of light and dark, and recognize the nature of your soul. Accept the divine gifts bestowed upon you, my son, for you are the shield that protects your heart and the spear that seeks to destroy those who corrupt. I hereby pass my blessing unto you"

It was unlike anything he could ever hope to describe. One moment he was in his room, eyes closed, focused on his dad's words. The next he felt everything. It was like his perception had stretched to the entire room they were in, he became hyper aware of everything around him, but at the same time more aware of his own body as only part of him. Like my soul and my body were separate, but at the same time one.'

"Whoa" there really wasn't a better word for his sudden 'awareness' his body never felt so light. It took him a moment to notice his dad was way paler than he should have been. "Dad, are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"I used my Aura to unlock yours" he said with closed eyes. He looked like he was trying to regain his breath. "Kinda like hooking a fish by using another as bait, I hooked your Aura with mine from within you and pulled it to the surface. Now it's your own Aura protecting you…and you got a lot"

He remembered Pyrrha saying those words to Jaune when he had his awakening and he healed a cut on his face. But why…then he noticed his leg stopped hurting. he reached for the bandage the doctor wrapped around it and he found the bleeding had stopped and the injury looked days old. Another day he'd be fine to train again.

"Amazing. I thought it'd be at least a week and a half" he said, stunned. He knew Aura helped healed wounds, but he never imagined it'd help this much.

"You realize this won't change training." My father said after he recovered. "if anything, I may go harder on you now"

"But I'll be able to handle it this time. you can count on it!" he exclaimed. he'd be excited, but even he got tired from being slammed into the ground ('padded or not, it sucks')

"Have you decided which training school you're going to?"

"Signal was my first choice" he said, remembering Yang and Ruby's school of choice, "and Beacon right after".

Dad looked surprised "So you won't be going to Haven?".

"Your old school?" he asked and waited for his nod. "I wanted to see how it is in Vale instead. You know what they say about blazing a new trail"

That made him pause, "No, what do they say" he asked sheepishly.

"I will go where there is no path and I will leave a trail" plagiarized (I think), but Earth lawyers will never find me, so I'm good.

* * *

And so, my Training begins, this is the first of two time skips I plan to do to set up for my time at beacon. I used a different Aura chant instead of what I assume to be Mistral's chant to unlock Aura, simply to add something new to fanfiction. Thank you, Reddit user LuminousArrow. This is my shout out and my thank you

I will love any advice and tips as this is my official first Fanfiction. I run everything through word, but I am looking for someone to proof read what I've written. I hope you all enjoy


	3. Chapter 3 Starting Point

Chapter 3 Starting point

"words" 'thoughts'

I do not own RWBY or any characters. So far only the Bianco family is mine

* * *

Training was training. It hurt, a lot, and often. Aura made things much easier. Which meant Cole came in less bloody, but his father's pace had him training 6 hours a day after class, and 10 hours on weekends. Not that his father was there all the times, work didn't allow him, but Cole worked on his own when he wasn't there,

Of course, training his body was only half the battle. Cinder used a virus to take control of the CCT, which means that our hero would need a fire wall to keep her out, or an antivirus to hunt it down in case she gets past him. Learning this crap was…difficult, but he did have some experience, having taken classes to be a programmer before trying to be a teacher. It was extremely different, but it did help learn how the CCT works.

Paying for the hardware and software for this was necessary…fortunately Cole had a head full of rock songs, movie plots and show stories to exploit. He used all his stored fiction with very few changes. He couldn't use Harry potter though, too much respect to the series. And Twilight…failed…he could never explain the plot well enough to make it seem appealing to the publishers…'and I gave it an honest try too.'

He did, however make a small fortune off Naruto though, so that was a pair of major wins at once. He was rich, and he brought Naruto to this world. Interestingly enough that seemed to popularize a large amount of ninja themed smut too. So…Ninjas of Love…may have been his doing.

Still, funneling that much into cyber defense got some attention, which was why he used more than a few pseudonyms. Being responsible for nearly the entire CCT's defense came with many perks too, perks he exploited as much as he could without revealing himself.

That was his free time since writing code seems to be easier in this body than his last one. Perhaps it was his brain structure, perhaps it was his motivation, either way, his lives could not be any more different.

That was his life for years, and he could happily say his semblance helped a lot. Not that he understood it completely…or partly…or at all. Whatever, more on that later.

The option to compete in Mistral's regional tournament was not one made lightly, the desire to see where he was on the scale of Huntsmen was strong, but part of his plan needed a certain amount of anonymity and champions have none of that. 'Just look at Pyrrha. Day 2 and Weiss was already hounding here based solely on reputation' he thought. Of course, that could have been Weiss looking for someone also suffering severe case of being famous to relate to, but it seems uncomfortable anyways.

That was years ago though, now Cole was on his way to signal. He didn't bring much, the apartment he rented near the school is mostly furnished with a student in mind, so he just brought the essential: pillows he couldn't live without, picture of his family, armor, maintenance kits (so many), weapons, ammo.

Those are two massive changes there. Turns out twins run in Cole's family. So much so that it was a major surprise that Cole was the only one of his batch (because what father wouldn't call a pregnancy a batch when he's cursed to always have more than one at a time). So, Cole is the eldest of 5 now…Jaune's family makes so much sense now.

The second change is his weapon…and that took two months to find. Everything Cole tried, from scythes, to spears, to a sword and shield combos, to a mace, a set of daggers, and even a hammer felt wrong in his hands. The swords always felt comfortable, but he wasn't made to take a hit in this body. He was meant to dodge, so the shield was useless to him. He was also pretty good with hand to hand, and a set of shotgun gauntlets as a backup helped, but they weren't his main weapon when it came to range.

When Cole found what felt comfortable he broke out laughing for so long, his father started getting worried for him. Nothing felt so right as the dual sword, bow combo…the same weapons Cinder uses. He hated it. He hated having anything in common with that bitch…but he had to use what felt right in his body. To do otherwise would leave him handicapped and he can't afford that with what's coming.

Still, that made Cole's goal as an archer clear. Hawkeye's tricks were his main goals. Most of his arrows have two settings too, single and wide-angle shots with different dust affects with a few with dust crystals as last resorts. Each element has its own slot in his quiver (which has dividers, so they don't get mixed up). Most of them have to be hand made by Cole himself, but it's mostly just an arrow with a glass bauble filled with dust that has a delay, so it doesn't go off in his face… again

'Learn through failure people. Learn through failure'

His arrows have five main elements. (Fire, lighting, ice, wind, earth and normal). Each has a single and area effect: fire either burns or explodes. Wind that supports or distracts (apparently Naruto wind cutting will not be happening from me anyways) ice can either capture or multi pierce (think frozen but much more lethal) and electric which either pierces (major piercing, like very exaggerating and collateral damaging piercing) and mass Taser.

His closest thing to Hawkeye's Boxing glove arrow is a specialty shaped Earth dust arrow made to land, then shoot a good-sized stone fist. The area effect is a large arrow that shoots stoned fists **everywhere**. 'This one is my favorite.'

Gravity arrow didn't work yet since Cole broke 2 training bows trying to get it to fly right. He 'thought it'd make a kind of black hole arrow, but he couldn't get the dust amount right yet. Either that or the shape, or the aura amount…whatever. See previous statement.'

Cole shivered, the bulkhead he was in was air conditioned and years of life on a farm had accustomed him to the glaring heat, cold was not the norm near him. 'I should have walked' he thought, 'but dad said I would have more time to train if I got there sooner. But if this thing is supposed to shake this much, I now sympathize with Jaune a little more. This thing sucked.'

As it turns out, in this body, Cole gets air sick '… great'

'Just gotta keep focused on prep and I'll be fine' he thought, focusing on all he's accomplished so far. 'I set up a bunker or two near the house, one my parents knew about, and another. They thought it was just my paranoia and let me since it didn't hurt to have a safe place.'

However, they didn't know about the second hidden in the forest. That one has got a lock made just for Cole. He used his Naruto money ('can I trade mark that? I'm on a different planet…it's mine now'). Its got a scanner to his eye alone, no master control switch or backdoor. Its got an easy to load low powered dust generated outside, which he unloaded it before he left, 'and there's no way to get in without loading it and having my eye.' He thought with more than a little satisfaction

It was a place just for him, and he filled it to the brim with books full of Earth stuff. He didn't want to forget anything. He wrote all he could remember and sealed everything as tight as he could. 'I might have a new life,' he thought with a hint of melancholy 'but I won't forget the life I had.'

And a jolt from the Bulkhead brought him back to where he was. 'Don't know how I got from here so fast, but Patch looks great and if I was right, I'm looking right at its heart: Signal. Taiyang is here. Ruby and Yang will be here'.

"This is where it starts."

* * *

Or will this be where it ends…nope

This is the last of my prep, but I got one last time skip. Still, I'm shifting my perspective from memories to present day so past tense is over. It's time for the now (god I think I butchered that)

And yes, I'm teasing my semblance. I'm also trying to find out how to explain it without screwing up, but I'll get there.

Thanks for the Fav, Follows, and Reviews, this is my first fic and I know I'll need help when the ball gets rolling and those all help

Until then, Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter. Laters!


	4. Chapter 4 Slight Delay

Chapter 4 Slight Delay

"words" 'thoughts'

I do not own RWBY or any characters. So far only Cole and the Bianco family is mine

* * *

For our hero, things… did not go exactly as planned

Signal was easy.

Cole saw and met Yang, her dad, and Qrow. Tai-yang was a good teacher. He helped build up Cole's hand-to-hand to near fully trained huntsman levels. And Qrow wasn't entirely drunk either. 'Guess even 'Drunky Qrow' can have a professional side too.'

He even met with Ruby a few times too. 'When I have to use the school forge to hand make most of my arrows, I should have figured that I would eventually meet the weapon nut.'

She is as adorable as one would expect she'd be. Cole didn't want to formally introduce himself just yet, but it was nice to be able to put a friendly face for her to look for at Beacon.

Yeah, but that was before his first mission in Beacon…where everything went wrong. He didn't want to remember it, but he could sum it up in 5 words.

Four man mission. One survivor.

Everything went wrong on that mission, and the recovery…well he wouldn't say he's recovered. He doubted he'll ever 'fully' recover. They were his team. 4 months or not. He couldn't tell you why he survived. To him, his story should have ended there.

But it didn't, so his story must keep going…Without team: MSTC (Mystic)

His physical recovery took long enough to force him to repeat the year, so He used the free time he had to pick up a job. It was his attempt to help speed up his recovery. Between that and double training, he keeps himself busy

Then fate decides to walk through the door of his restaurant two months in.

"Good Morning, welcome to Café le Coffee, table for one?" the words were out of his mouth before he could think, which was a good thing as all conscious thought left as soon as he noticed exactly who he was talking to.

"That remains to be seen" said Weiss Schnee as she walked in. The last of team RWBY Cole had yet to meet, and she walks into his café. 'Fate you annoying prick'.

She said her order (simple Valien Black, cream on side) and Cole turned to his barista to get it started…if only he stopped staring at her and to actually get his work done.

Cole glared at him till he noticed, "Take a break, come back when you can form a sentence"

Was it wrong for Cole to berate him in front of a guest? Yes. Did he care? No. Cole's demand for quality does not include star struck idiots.

He rushed to pour her coffee. If the server couldn't handle it, he would. However, he was surprised when she pulled back in shock. "this isn't Valien"

Our huntsman took a quick look at the coffee urn and paled. That was the urn he had brought from his apartment.

"I am so sorry, I'll be right back with your order"

"Don't bother" she said, taking another sip, "What is this?"

Cole couldn't hide his proud smile, "The Bianco custom, beans straight from my Mother's farm. She grows the best in Anima" Yes Cole was biased, but when his mother is one of the main supplier to all of Beacon, he had a right to be

"It's not on the menu" she noted.

"It wouldn't be" he said, "It's my personal brew, I may have grabbed the wrong urn when I…when you…I'll stop talking now" he stopped talking before he made more of a fool of himself, 'great, now I'm and idiot and I have to apologize to our barista.'

She looked at her now empty mug and half-filled urn and before she can say anything, "I'm about to get another shipment this weekend. If you want, I could put some aside for you?"

She gives Cole a wary look, "and exactly how much would this…Bianco custom be?"

He thought for a minute and sighed, "technically I'm not allowed to sell you coffee from home. Even the urn I gave you has to be comped off the check". Cole gave her a quick smile, "that said, shipping is usually 50 lien. Split it, and I wouldn't mind splitting the shipment."

She glared at him, and while Cole tried to figure out what he did, "so is that what you're trying to do? Get me to pay for your shipping?"

"Nope" He says quickly. 'If she thinks I'm after her money, I'll never get close to her, and that'd make working with the team harder'. "I got my own funding. Even this job is more hobby. Just till I go to Beacon next year"

She gives me a look, "You're going to Beacon?"

"Yep" He smiled again. Gotta keep cool. "I got a spot saved for me next year, guaranteed by Headmaster Ozpin himself. Are you going there too?" he asked gesturing to the sword to her side.

"As a matter of fact, I am" ah, there's that smug attitude. "I passed the entrance exam with flying colors".

"I'll admit I wasn't sure you could fight, I only ever saw your concert online once" He admitted, returning her smugness. "Care for a spar sometime?"

"Think a waiter can keep up with an heiress?" she teased.

"I'm a Host", He said, "and the name is Cole, Cole Bianco".

"Weiss Schnee, the pleasure is yours".

He left a moment later to see to his other duties ('and apologize to the damn barista who earned that smugness') and she left by the time he got back, and he thought he'd have a smooth week. 'I have 5 months until Beacon, plenty of time to train.'

Then a certain Faunus walked in a day later. Fuck you Fate!

She already had her bow on, so she left the Fang by now. 'I wondered if she remembers me from before.'

"Good Evening, welcome to Café le Coffee, table for one?"

She nodded and walked in, book in hand. He couldn't tell what book it was, but I what I could tell was that was definitely Gambol Shroud on her back. 'why the hell does everyone have their weapons with them?' "would you like to see our selection of teas Ma'am?"

She nodded and thanked him for the menu. She really doesn't talk much to strangers, huh?

It's not as nerve racking as Weiss, truth be told. But he couldn't help it, he really couldn't:

"So, did things change for you?"

She stopped, gapping at me confused and Cole gave her a sad smile, "I told you a while ago we'll change things. Things did for me, admittedly not in the way I wanted, but it's change…I suppose."

She just stared at me, it's been about 9 years, so he wasn't surprised.

Still, he had to make an impression.

As she put her cup down, he motioned to her weapon, "Beacon? Or do you have an apprenticeship?"

"Beacon, in a few months" she says, she puts her book down and he could tell she's still tense.

"I won't tell" she looks at him, confused, so he motions to her head. "You didn't have your bow when we first met. If you don't want me to, I won't mention it if we see each other there"

"You're going to Beacon too?" she said. He kinda felt sorry for her. 'I'm giving her one turn after another.'

He smiled at the hidden Faunus, an actual smile too, "yeah, my weapons are stored away though. Boss has a thing against employees keeping deadly things out in the open."

She nods and finished her cup. He looks straight at it, "did you want a pot? On me since I gave you a bit of a scare"

She nods and accepts my apology pot. Cole darts around to his other tables before coming back and she had finished her first cup of the fresh pot. "thank you" she said.

"For the pot?" he asked. 17 years and he is still a smart ass

"For keeping my secret" she corrects.

"While I'm sad you feel the need to hide such a big part of you, I won't question why. Faunas go through way too much bull from the stupid half of the human population. I won't add to it"

She pauses "what about the White Fang? You used to support them"

He felt himself go still, the latter half of her sentence died out, probably because she saw the look on Cole's face as she said it.

"I do not support the White Fang. They've changed from what they were, from the movement with believers to a bunch of extremists' terrorists that make Faunas look bad.". He barely got those words out with a grimace and looked away from Blake. He waited a moment and turn back. "I know they aren't all that, but that's what they've become"

She looks shocked and he gave her a sad look. "I hate the White Fang" he lowered his voice and scooted in. He had to make his point just right. "But the Faunas are not defined by the actions of their worse half".

"The White Fang are not the worse half" she defends. Though she gives him a surprised look when he gave her a dry chuckle.

"You didn't say anything when I mention human's worse half, but you do defend those that kill and steal over those who show prejudice and narrow mindedness". She opens her mouth and Cole waved his hand to stop her. "I can name multiple times when White Fang do this ma'am. From stealing train cars" (this gets her to stop) "to wiping out whole teams of huntsmen"

This stuns her, and he barely held back a shudder. "I've also seen Humans that do the same" he looked away and look towards his other tables. He rocketed away as he left to go tend to their needs. She's still there by the time he returned, and the pot is empty.

"I am sorry if I upset you" he said as he walked up. "please consider the pot on the house"

She nods again as she gets up to leave. Right before she does though, He calls out to her, "I refuse to blame Faunas for what the Fang has done, miss"

"It's Blake." She says.

"Ms. Blake. I don't blame them. Faunas are not evil. Not even most of the Fang is evil. But they have named themselves as enemies to anyone who fights for peace, Human and Faunus alike. Maybe they had a right to, maybe they should have stepped up from peaceful protests. But even you can't justify their actions when they take lives"

"Even if it's self-defense?" she asks.

He looks her dead in the eye.

"It's not self-defense when they kill three out of four first-years on their first mission, Ms. Blake."

She was stunned as he turned his back. His shift wasn't over, but the boss would understand him leaving a bit early. Might not hit overtime this week ('freaking miracle considering my track record') but before he could leave she stopped him.

"Wait, what's your name?"

'Ah, thank you Blake'. Now he got to make his dramatic exit: "It's Cole Bianco. If you want more tea, I'll be happy to serve you, but if not, I'll see you at Beacon"

* * *

I gotta admit, I only planned to formally meet one of Team RWBY this chapter. You may thank Hurricane Irma for Blake's part.

I can't update till my WIFI is back up (I have power, but no WIFI. Makes perfect sense) admittedly that part kinda wrote itself, making this my longest chapter!

Is anyone else going to the Volume 5 Premier? I am! I saw the tickets and my lack of WIFI made me desperate enough to cave nearly immediately…worth it. See some of you there

Café la Coffee is from the Director commentary from Volume 2 which I had playing in the background while typing this so blame them. It's the same café Blake takes Sun to in Volume 1.

The shipping price is what it would cost to ship 10 pounds to my Mother's home country. It's a rough estimate without any deals or free shipping nonsense. I'll give a name drop to anyone who can guess what country that is.

I'm a Server, not a Waiter, a Server. I mean no offense to any Waiters, I don't really know the difference, it's just what I am (could someone tell me please?)

I'm still not sure if there will be a ship of Cole and anyone else, but I'll try to find out soon

I need someone to bounce idea, message me if you want the job (I have no RWBY fans near me, which makes me sad)

Thank you all for the Favorite and Follow and Thank you for the Reviews.


	5. Chapter 5 Ruby Rose

Chapter 5

"words" 'thoughts'

I do not own RWBY or any characters. So far only the Bianco family is mine

Great people, get ready. If I don't do too terrible this should be where beacon starts! Here we GO!

* * *

Dust.

All of Cole's arrows need dust, and he uses Dust enhanced whetstones to keep his swords sharp. Means he spends a crap load of Naruto money on Dust Crystal to shape into arrows heads, and just raw dust because you never know when you need a bomb ('there's a reason there are special containers for Dust, Weiss' dust bottles are not normal').

Naturally that means Cole spends a lot of time in various Dust shop. He bought Dust in mass, expecting White fang to raise prices (and I was right) but Dust whetstones are best from a single dust shop in Vale.

Any bets which one.

'From Dust till Dawn'

Screw you Fate.

He just came by for his weekly supply, and to touch up his reserves, which are for later this year.

Then he saw it, that bloody red hood.

'It's that day' he realized. He had nearly forgot, with weekly overtime and training. Beacon, so soon, only 2 weeks now.

'Torchwick is on his way, and with him. Volume 1…ugh.'

Cole makes his way to Ruby. They met back at signal, but he hasn't formally introduced himself yet. Time to make an impression.

"There's a familiar face" He said. Great acknowledgement. Too bad she didn't hear it ('those head phones were quality, soundproof. I approve.')

He pokes her shoulder and smiled when she turned around. Take 2.

"Hey there." he says

"Oh, Hello" 'ah, hello awkwardness. Been a while.'

"It's Cole, from Signal?" He tries.

"Oh right", Cole gets the feeling she doesn't remember. "So, what're you doing here?"

"This is the best place for affordable dust and dust stuff." He pats his hands on the swords on his hips, "Dust whetstones, only the best for my dual monsters here"

She gives him a big smile "Yeah, I wanted to get one for my sweetheart here, but then I saw the magazines here"

Ah, the path to friendship lies with her weapon. Cole had taken to walk around with his weapons since meeting Blake. They were still stored away while he was working, but after work, he was always geared up.

"A scythe, right?" not common, and very notable when someone uses the same weapon as Qrow mother fucking Branwen.

"A High-caliber customizable sniper scythe" she corrects caressing the red weapon. Even in storage mode, that's a bit much. And adorable, that too.

Cole laughed and felt a sharp point on his back. He stiffened and turned to see a red and black goon with a sword out.

"Put your hands where I can see them!"

He blinked, 'when the hell did they come in?' Looking at the front now, He could see that red-haired jerk standing at the front desk.

"Are you…robbing us?" He hears next to him. This is it.

"Yes" and so we begin

Cole's fist sends the guy flying and look at the Scythe wielder. "Shall we?"

That next poor bastard got sent flying by a combo hit. Cole almost felt sorry for him. Almost

Ruby ended up outside with the dude and the moment they turn their backs to look at her reveal Cole took aim with his bow, 'nothing says good evening like a sweeping Air cushion arrow to the back (for nondamaging crowd control, or an emergency landing strategy). Perfect for pushing idiots from a Dust store'. They went flying, Ruby catching one with her scythe and smashing him with another.

Cole looked for Torchwick and saw him start to get up. He hooked his swords to spools on his waist and aimed at him and the goon to his right, easy target.

Before Cole released he was proven wrong. Torchjerk shot first and Cole ended up with a face full of cane. By the time he got back up Torchwick was already halfway up the fire escape and Ruby was finishing up the goons. She turned to the Shopkeeper and Cole tossed his sword up, grappling hook style, letting it pull him up to the roof by the spools.

He and Cole get there about the same time, and Cole takes his glare in stride as he readies an ice arrow and takes aim with a smile.

"Aw, didn't make the getaway you wanted?" Cole taunted.

"Weren't you taking a nap down below?" he shot back. 'Alright, I'll give him that one.'

"Hey" called Ruby, joining use on the roof.

Roman's getaway ship chose that moment to rise. He rushed to get on, tossing a crystal at the trainees. Cole went to kick it at back, but he shot at it, and Cole itself before it could get far enough. 'I honestly thought that would hurt', and it probably would have if it wasn't for the huge Glyph form between them and the crystal.

Ah and que her badass entrance: Glynda Goodwitch.

The Glyph lasted long enough for Roman to finish his early celebration before he ducked inside. He was doing this faster than Storyline. Cole guessed his interference spooked him. Goodwitch shot them with a hailstorm right when Cole saw her.

Cinder.

Cole couldn't make out her face, but he could shoot at it, so he did. He let his readied ice arrow fly, missing her, but hitting the ship interior. Close enough

The shot exploded, freezing her in place. Would have been great if she didn't free herself within seconds, countering it with a blast of fire that Goodwitch blocked again.

Cole grabbed another arrow in time to notice the ground glowing. He jumped back, taking Ruby with him before it exploded. As their friendly witch sent them a gift in the form of a stone arrow, Cole added his own arrow to the mix, area lightning. 'See if I can fry them.'

Roman deflected both off the top of his ship and Goodwitch split her arrow, trying to get them from different angle.

Cole pulled another arrow, one with a tracker in the head. 'We weren't gonna win this, but I still wanted to know where they were going'. Going for the still partially frozen inside, He released in time to watch Cinder fry everything nearby.

Cole twitched. The bitch! Tracker arrows were more expensive than thisDust ones. What he wouldn't give to have GPS in this world. He nocked another arrow firing again. Plain this time. He wasn't gonna risk his nice ones on a fight they weren't meant to win. There will be another time.

Plus, his piercing gravity bomb arrow hasn't been tested yet. 'No way I'm doing that in Vale. Hell, I might not even do that in Beacon. Might have to go to the forest for that one.'

He turned to Goodwitch, slightly nervous. This was a part he dreaded. He hates getting lectured. But he was glad he tuned in just in time to hear those famous words, "You're a huntress. Can I have your autograph?".

Glynda's eyes narrow and Cole slumped his shoulders "we have to come in for questioning, don't we?"

Ruby's eyes went wide as the witch nodded her head.

* * *

Whatever people tell you about interrogation rooms they're probably right.

It wasn't dark or scary or dirty. It was all three, and boring too.

Ruby and Cole were silent at first, but after some time He started leaning back on the chair. He really should have brought his notebook.

"They sure are taking a long time" said Ruby, she's a nervous. Oops

"Glynda Goodwitch is a professional Huntress", he explains. "With the mess they made of the place, she probably has a small mountain of paperwork to do. Probably scheduling estimates and repairs on Shopkeepers store"

She's silent and he gives her a sarcastic smile "they never mention the paperwork side of being a Huntsman, huh?"

She doesn't get to answer as the door opens and Goodwitch walks back in. "Good evening Ms. Goodwitch".

She glares at him and Cole gives her a nervous smile "I hope you both realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly. You put yourself and others in great danger."

"They started it!" Ruby defended.

Cole scowled and gave Goodwitch his own look. "we reacted to a threatened civilian, separating him from the threat before trying to go for Torchwick."

Talking over her earned me a glare, but he wasn't wrong, so she didn't correct him. "If it were up to me. You'd be sent home, with a pat on the back." Ruby smiles, Cole waits for her to finish.: "And a slap on the wrist"

She brings the crop down and Cole's honestly thankful they took his backups away, because that would have made him counter with a shot, teacher or not.

"But there is someone here who would like to meet you" she finishes, backing up to reveal the badass himself.

 **Ozpin**.

The man steps forward, mug in one hand, cookies in the other.

"Ruby Rose" he says leaning forward. "You…have silver eyes".

Wow, he sounds as awkward as she is. True to form, Ruby has no idea how to respond to it.

Sadly, Cole's smartass self does.

"She also has brown/red hair, leg strength to send a full-grown man flying, and a Scythe that is taller than herself".

That's when his eyes met mine, "and Cole Bianco"

Cole nodded respectfully "It's a pleasure to see you again, sir."

Ruby's eyes darted from the two of them and Cole gives her another smile, "don't look so surprised. I graduated Signal last year. Beacon's was my main choice"

Ozpin nodded and turned back to Ruby, "so, Ms. Rose is that where you learned to do this?" he asked gesturing to Goodwitch's tablet, showing Ruby annihilating the goons.

'Where did they get that video from?'

"Y-yes sir," said Ruby. She was nervous, still didn't understand whether she was in trouble or not.

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapon ever designed?" he asked.

"Well, one teacher in particular"

"I see" truth be told, Cole understand his confusion. Scythes were not common for a reason; those things are a bitch to learn ('see previous chapter for vague mention of my failure')

He put the plate down. Cole snagged one and slid the rest to Ruby, earning him a "thank you".

"It just that I've only seen one other scythe wielder of that skill before. A dusty old Qrow"

"thas ma uncle" said Ruby, cheeks full of all the other cookies. Cole blinks, that was fast. She clears her throat "sorry. That's my uncle Qrow. He's a teacher at signal. I was complete garbage till he took me under his wing. now I'm all: hya" she goes through a bunch of poses, knocking Cole's half cookie out of my hand.

"er sorry" she squeaked. He just gave the cookie a sigh and nodded. Oh well.

"And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

"well, I want to be a Huntress"

"you want to slay monsters?"

"yeah, I only have two more years of training left at signal, then I'm going to apply to Beacon. See my sister is starting this year, and she's trying to be a huntress. And I trying to become a huntress because I want to help people." She would have kept going, but Cole put a hand on her shoulder before her tangent started.

Silence. It fit the room as Cole could see the gears working in Ozpin's eyes. His eyes dart to Cole's, much to his confusion, and he gives them both a smile. "and you are aware of who I am?" he finally asks.

And now it's Ruby's turn to smile "you're professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon"

"Hello"

"Nice to meet you"

"You want to come to my school"

"More than anything"

He gives Goodwitch a look, which she returns by rolling her eyes, and says "well, Okay".

Ruby sits there in shock as his eyes turn to Cole's. He gets uncomfortable as his future knowledge ends its usefulness. "Mr. Bianco, would you mind staying behind as we procure a ride home to Ms. Rose?"

"No Sir," He says, trying to determine why he would be needed. Cole may have been sending him letters of what would happen for the last year, but that had been behind a few Pseudonyms and multiple fake addresses, neither of which was traceable.

A still in shock Ruby was led out an Cole was left in the room with the Headmaster. He sighed and took a sip of what Cole finally identified as Bianco Custom.

"If this is about order forms for mom's coffee, I can get you some by this weekend"

"this is about your returning to Beacon Mr. Bianco" he said, silencing our huntsman in an instant. "Although we are running out of forms too" he added, having the decency to look sheepish that he had to admit it.

Cole takes a deep breath "is there a problem with my admission, Headmaster?"

He shook his head, "the problem lies with your level of skill. You more than qualify for your position, with your experience you would qualify for a third, or even fourth year easily" he says, taking another sip. 'Dammit, now I want some.'

"but we can't put me on a team at random" He states, seeing his teacher's problem. "I over qualify for first year and can't move up without a team leaving me with…" and Cole goes silent, too shocked for words. Would he be denied entry because he over qualifies?

Never had that problem before

"This leaves us with one option that hasn't been done in some time"

'huh? Still got a shot, awesome.' Still, he wouldn't sign up without some knowledge "and what would this option be?"

Ozpin gives Cole a smile as Glynda makes her way back in. "some time ago, certain students who scored right would gain a manager position. These positions would put the students in charge of two, sometimes three teams, although since it has been a while, we'll be lowering it to two this time."

Cole goes silent. This is perfect. If he got to choose his teams, team RWBY and JNPR will end up as awesome as they are meant to be.

He also stops his face from twitching as he remembers this being the way the protagonist from Vale of Darkness entered the team.

Whether they attribute my silence as nerves or planning, he'll never know. After a moment, Cole meets Ozpin's eyes, feeling the same push that put him through these 18 years of hard training.

"I'll do it"

* * *

Beacon

Honestly seeing it for the first time was the happiest moment of Cole's second life…beating the birth of the 3rd set of twins by a mile. ('seriously. I am now the eldest of 7 kids. I had to check my hair color to make sure I'm not Jaune')

Seeing it now just hurt.

He's still not okay with what happened, but he has to keep going and seeing it out of the window of a Bulkhead brought many emotions up.

Although fear was a good part of it

'Fuck flying. was that a bang? Why did I not walk! seriously this sucks' he swears this machine was not meant to bang around this much. He almost couldn't focus on what he was looking for. Then he found it.

Jaune Arc

Poor sap with the worst luck in Beacon. Cole makes his way to him, bottle of pills in hand as he taps his rocking shoulder. The knight turns to him, face a bit pale. His motion sickness must have already set in, but Cole may have caught it in time.

"Let me guess, motion sickness" he asked, smile on his face. When he nodded Cole handed him the bottle he used to fly on these metal tombs. "This should help, but stay away from windows. They won't do you any favors".

"Thanks" he says, popping a pill with the water bottle Cole hand him. "you starting out too?"

"More like starting over", Cole mutters, scowling slightly before he smiles at Jaune's confused face. "don't worry about it. The name's Cole" he says, extending his hand

"Jaune Arc" he says taking the hand. His color returning to him as the medicine worked its magic ('which may be literal, depending on the Dust concentration') they chat until Goodwitch come up on the view screen. While Jaune listened to her, Cole lets his mind wonder as he forced himself to remember what he's been through, what he's done so far, and what was coming up in just a few months' time.

Not just for RWBY or JNPR. But for MSTC too. For Maru, Steff, And Tuli

'For them. I won't fail. I can't'

Cole came out of his thoughts just in time to notice Goodwitch finishing and pulled at Jaune before he looked out the window. He gave Cole a confused look before he said, "if you blow chunks on the first day for looking out a window, the name Vomit Boy will follow you until you graduate and beyond dude."

Jaune's eyes widened and he thanked him as we neared the end of their flight.

And the Beginning of the Volume

* * *

Dear god this was hard. I'm actually very nervous about portraying the characters just right and not do too much especially this early. I think I'll stick a chapter for every episode for now, maybe a filler or three in between…Jaune will not like me for those, imma drag him through hell.

Honestly this is both the easiest and the hardest chapter I've written. This was literally me just injecting my character into Cannon. No notable change yet. Nothing besides erasing Vomit boy from the storyline

And from the late team MSTC

Maru (Deep Koamaru)

Steff (Saffron…didn't understand that)

Tuli(Tulip)

Cole Bianco (Coal White)

All names came from the fantasy name generator Rwby names…including Cole Bianco.

And they don't have last names because screw it, best request gets to give them last names. Most useful semblance gets mentioned too, but keep in mind: they are already dead. Confirmed, Cole saw the bodies and everything.


	6. Chapter 6 Shining Beacon

Chapter 6

"words" 'thoughts'

I do not own RWBY or any characters. So far only the Bianco family and team MSTC are mine

Ah, is it time to torture my character? Yep. Enjoy the chapter!

'Honestly, I hate these things.'

Cole felt himself start to pale as the bullhead docked into beacon's landing platform. He knows Jaune wasn't doing too well, medicine must have worked too late. Still, Cole saved him from his moniker…this time.

He still bolted to the trash can the moment we got out, but it looks like it was just in case as he stood over it and clutched his stomach. Cole didn't blame him, as he leaned on the wall just out of the door to regain his wits.

"These things suck" Cole tells him. Jaune just nods. "need a moment?"

He nods again, and Cole gives him a moment before he pats his back and walks him out.

'Ah, Beacon'. Cole just looks at it, but the expression on his face must have been darker than he thought

"Hey, you okay" Jaune, the most oblivious man alive noticed, that says a bit.

"Yeah, it's just been a while since I've been here."

He gives Cole a look before straightening up "oh, sorry. I thought you were a first year like me"

"It's a little more complicated than that, sadly." Cole tells him, he gives Cole another confused look as he notices a familiar looking girl spinning out of control.

'Crap'! Cole bolts for it, leaving his new friend and move to catch Ruby just before she falls on Weiss' bags of Dust.

"Woo, made it. Nearly ate it there. Hey Ruby" He says, straightening her out before stepping away.

"Cole?" she asks, still looks a bit out of it.

"What are you doing!?" yells Weiss

Cole looks up, seems like she hasn't recognized him. Let's fix that.

"Hello again Weiss. Didn't expect to see you so soon" answer anger with wit, answer to everything.

She blinked, probably not used to a smartass like Cole.

Gave Ruby enough time to recover though, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall on your bags".

Weiss glared at Ruby "Do you have any idea of the damage you almost have caused?"

Yeah…no. "Almost caused, means she didn't" ah, almost missed Blake behind me. Time for an exposition dump. "what's in there anyways?"

She rolls her eyes and pulls a Vial from the white bag "this is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee quarry"

Cole's eyes narrow at the hand sized bottle, "in a glass bottle? Isn't that kinda risky?"

She rolls her eyes again, "it's a special Dust case, made to hold and keep its content safe"

"Wait, so it would have been okay if she fell on it?" I say, finally straightening the newly recovered Ruby.

Ah, Schnee glare. That should get its own label "it's the principle of falling on someone else's luggage!"

Cole shrugs, "Whatever Princess"

"It's heiress actually" figures Blake would take that opening "Weis Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the Largest producers of energy propellant in the world"

"Finally, some recognition!" cried Wiess.

And wait for it: "the same company infamous for its controversial forces and questionable business partners"

"Hey there Blake" Cole greeted as Weiss regained her composure. "Do keep in mind, Weiss has no control over what that man does with her family's company"

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" 'oh dear, look like I may have to tip my hand a bit'

"It means I got tired of hearing the Schnee family is to blame for the shady treatment of their workforce. I decided to look and see if there was any actual evidence and hard facts besides speculation. As a whole, the Schnee family is actually quite clean of most of the blame tossed their way."

"Most?" Weiss asked, seems her temper is a bit high.

"Your Grandfather, Nicholas, was more than just a decent guy. Much more…let's go with good, he was a good man" Weiss nodded at this…time to rain on her parade "but I have nothing nice to say of your ruthless father, or his back stabbing, shady ass deals"

Weiss looked shocked at this, and Cole spotted Blake hiding a shadow of a smile. "I don't have to listen to this!" said Weiss stomping away. Cole winced, that may have been a mistake, but he won't hold back on those ideals. His sources confirmed Jacques Gelè was worse than the show made him out to be, from fraud to assassination, that bastard did anything to get ahead.

'Oh well, at least I made her look bad in front of Jaune (who was making his way here). I should steer him towards Pyrrha as soon as I can.'

"Whatever, thanks for the help Blake." I say turning back to the girl, who simply nodded to me. He motioned to my redheaded, brunette friend next to me "this is Ruby and Blondie over here is..."

"Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it"

A moment of silence for his idiot friend, as literally all three of them got a dead look in their eyes and said as one "Do they?"

He had the decency to blush and rub the back of his head. "Well…"

Cole was getting used to saving his ass, probably not a habit he should develop "shall we forget you said that, my friend. Cause that is the only other option besides it is holding it over your head"

"Y-yeah, thanks"

"Whatever, come on."

As they made their way, Cole made sure the four of them started to head to where the opening ceremony was going to take place.

Ruby, bless her, still not used to having people near, tried to keep it lively. "So, I got this thing" she said unsheathing her weapon as if it were something someone does when meeting new people…which is probably how she meets new people come to think of it.

"Whoa is that a Scythe?!" ah Jaune, what a way with words

"It's also a customizable, high impact sniper rifle" she says, holding it up for us to see

Jaune leans towards Cole and asks, "what?"

"It's a Scythe that will snipe you from hundreds of meters away if it has to." Cole tells him turning to our hidden faunus and smiling at her disbelieving face. "and what do you have Ms. Blake? Might as well share since initiation is tomorrow."

They all look at him and he realizes only Jaune knows he's been here before. "right, this isn't my first year here, but I have a special deal with the head master regarding my admission, kinda like you Ru."

Ruby nods with a blush and Jaune stops staring, but he could see Blake is still curious so before she can ask "something happened last year. I'm kinda not okay talking about it, but I'll tell you if you want…later"

The curious looks are back, but Blake nods. Trying to get the atmosphere back, Ruby asks, "so what kind of weapon do you have Blake?"

Pulling out her weapon. "This is Gambol Shroud. It's a Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe"

Knowing Jaune was about to ask so, Cole just tells him without the prompt. "it's a sword that folds into a gun with a sheathe…that has a bit of an edge…a cleaver… ah dual wield?" He asks, feigning foreknowledge to make it seem like it's an analysis.

She nods and Cole motions for Jaune to go, knowing his own might take a while. "I got this sword, and the sheathe turns into a shield" said shield then bounces out of his grip and Cole catches it and hand it back to him with some effort. The damn thing is heavy

"So, when I get tired of carrying it, I can…just put it away" he says the last part sheepishly, but Cole nods his head

"Taking the weight off your arm and shifting it to your legs." Cole adds making sure Jaune knows it's not an entirely useless change. Cole scratches his head, "have you thought of adding Gravity dust? Activated, behind or through the shield would stop anything in its tracks"

Jaune's eyes go wide and the girls nod their heads. Cole uses this idea in his training equipment. Even now, he had a coat of gravity dust. He increased the weight daily, and turned it off when he needed to, like for the bull head ride. He didn't have it at max, but 60% activated was high enough…for now.

We got closer to the main room, almost there when Ruby called Cole out, "hey! What about yours' Cole"

He smirked, he wasn't gonna let it be this easy. "Fine, just one question: Set 1 or Set 2?"

Ruby's eyes glazed over a bit while Blake and Jaune gave him an incredulous look. "You have two sets of weapons?"

Cole's smirk grew, "there is no such thing as over prepared. So, Set 1 or 2?"

Ruby seemed to be having trouble deciding, Jaune didn't seem to have that issue: "Set 2" when Blake gave him a look he shrugged "If he calls it Set 1 he's more likely to use it"

"I want to say he's wrong. I mean, I'm fully trained and practiced in both and I do use both…but he's not. I use Set 1 more often" it's Cole's shame. His dual swords and bow are just so much cooler.

And with that Cole activate his second set, his watch and wristband expanding as they form two familiar looking gauntlets. He gets point 7 seconds before Ruby's lifting his still dust covered arm for a better look. "they look just like my sisters!"

Knowing she didn't mean anything by it, Cole decides to play along anyways "is that an insult?"

Ruby shakes her head "Yang has shotgun gauntlets just like those"

"It's gauntlets and boots Ruby" he says lifting his pants legs to reveal his fifth and sixth weapons. "this set med to close range"

Blake's eyes narrow, "Don't other weapons mean you have to learn-"

"A whole other fighting style? Yep, keeps me unpredictable and much more dangerous in a fight" He says with a smile. He turns to Ruby who kept turning his arm over "the arm doesn't come off you know." She gives him a sheepish smile, dropping the arm. "what do you think?"

"Your design is actually losing a bit of power" she says, shocking him. "I can take a look at your blue prints and give you some hints if you'd like."

Cole looked over this design so many times. That said, Ruby made her monster of a weapon. If anyone can make it any better, she could.

"Deal Ruby, I'll get them to you after initiation." she smiled and we finally reached the main hall.

"Ruby, over here! I saved you a spot" the fact that you could hear Yang over everyone else says a lot.

"Oh, I got to go. I'll see you after the ceremony" and poof, she's gone

"at least we still have each other" Cole jokes. Blake rolls her eyes and Jaune laughs.

He sees Weiss making her way to Ruby and Yang, but it'd do more harm than good if He went to stir up trouble now, so he subtly makes his way to the back, Jaune's got this now. Although he didn't expect for Blake to follow him.

Cole stared at her and it honestly takes him a moment to see why she chose to follow him. "you're making sure I don't say anything huh?"

At least she has the decency to blush. Dammit Blake. "Do you expect to keep an eye on me the next 4 years? As my partner?" nodding at a rhetorical question is not a good sign. "whelp, imma rain on your parade. I'm not taking the normal initiation. I'm taking a manager position, in charge of two teams"

She gives Cole a skeptical look "why would they put you in charge of teams?"

"a problem with my application. My schoolwork was good enough to pass, but I can't continue without a team of my own, and all upper year teams were too close together to add an outsider like me." He finished, hoping that was an end before the questions he didn't want to answer started popping up. That hope was quickly dashed away though

"What happened to your team?"

Cole grits his teeth and turns away. It hurt to think of them, always would it seem, but this was something he had to answer eventually. 'The cliff notes version better work, for now I hope'. "not every team comes back from a mission Blake. And sometimes, even the first mission can be just as dangerous when the unexpected happens."

This silences Blake as she connects the dots between what he said, to what he had said before. Before she can say anything, Ozpins stands up to the mike to make his speech, and Cole takes his leave from Blake before it ends.

Cole skips the tour for first years and make his way to the headmaster's office. He wanted to see him before initiation, so Cole figured the day before should be good enough.

Cole got to the elevator before he realized he had no idea what the code to get up was. Not everyone could get up there, it was a very secure room. 'Couldn't stop me if I tried, but that'd be rude…and illegal.'

"well shoot. Am I supposed to wait down here?"

"you could have approached me after the speech as well, you know."

"FUCK A DUCK!" Moments like this is why the few hundred lbs. his gravity-coat gives him come in handy, cause otherwise Cole would have jumped to the damn office.

Doesn't stop Ozpin from slamming that damn cane on Cole's head though. "Language, Mr. Bianco" He's polite enough to wait for Cole's heart rate to climb down, or maybe he's just waiting for him to stop glaring.

"I almost didn't deserve that head master…but I'm using that on my teams, so thanks for that." he mutters that last part before straightening himself. "is this about how I'm choosing my teams?"

"Quick as usual Mr. Bianco" he says, sipping his usual. "you remember how Partners are picked during initiation, yes?"

"Of course, sir. the first person you make eye contact with becomes your partners and the pair that grab matching relics form the teams for the next four years. So how does a manager choose their teams?" it's an honest question.

"The manager position requires you to take a closer, more refined look at both teams to manage either."

"So, I make a decision after initiation?"

"You will also be taking part in initiation in order to see all teams and make your decision carefully"

Cole nodded his head. Seeing them in action would be the best way. Sadly, He already knew which teams he wanted, but that would have worked otherwise.

"Alright sir. I'll keep an eye out for all the teams" he pulls up his design on his scroll. It's a wing suit that has lines of wind dust sewn in, "I've changed my landing strategy to permit me more control and extended air time. should give me a bird's eye view on the lot of them, for a while anyways"

"I also recommend you keep silent about your role. Best way to receive a more objective judge of one's character"

"Got it headmaster, I'll keep it quiet until after", and that's all that was said. Being sent away, Cole made his way back to the ballroom. Even now he was surprised they had all students in one room. And no, there were no official 'sides'. It's more like, if you have the nerve to approach the girls, you were welcome to take the risk…before they kick your ass back

This was a combat school. Except in extreme cases, violence was not discouraged.

That said, Cole snagged Jaune exactly 2 seconds after entering with that damn onesie.

"Jaune, bud. I've known you almost a full day, right?"

"Yeah? What's up?" can he not see it?

"All day, have I steered you wrong once?" notice dude, notice!

"No, you've been pretty cool really" dammit don't make me spell it out!

"that's because I consider myself a fairly friendly, nice dude, honest-"

"Cole, what are you trying to say?"

"you have to burn the onesie."

The silence said a lot.

"It's my pumpkin Pete onesie"

"It's a laughing stock, man. Not one soul will take you seriously if you go out in it. I'm trying to save what's left of the rep you destroyed the two seconds it took me to save you"

He was solemn, but Cole expected resistance. He offered him a pair of blue plaid pajama pants with a white shirt. Kinda matched my black pants and blue shirt ('they were my spare pajama set. They were meant for me!'). felt like a miracle when he took them. "alright, you don't have to burn them, but for the love of sanity, don't let those be seen. If you're lucky your team mates might not care".

"oh right, team mates. Any tips for tomorrow?"

Cole gives him hisbest innocent smile, an equal to his evil smile "now, now Jaune. **NO SPOILERS**."

He leaves before Jaune can shake off what we will now dub Cole's evil voice…right into the future team RWBY. "Ruby, Blake, Weiss. Small world. Why are you all yelling?"

Yep, Schnee glare detected.

And sweetness from Ruby, "hey Cole. This is my big sister: Yang."

Cole gives Ruby a smile before immediately glaring at Yang. "ah, I've heard of Ms. Xiao-long"

Ruby and Blake give me a surprise look as Yang smiles, missing his glare "someone mention how awesome I am, huh? Can't say I'm surprised."

"Yeah, someone mentioned a short-tempered blonde who blows up and shuts down clubs for a week if she doesn't get what she wants. Yes, someone has indeed mentioned you"

Cole's source for info into the darker parts of Remnant led him to use Hei Xong as a source. Paying for it instead of using force made us great associates and having the Malachite twins as friends led him to all sorts of gossip. Gossip that included complaints against a certain blonde bombshell that put them down for half a day.

Yang blinked, shocked that someone knew probably. Ruby and Blake were no better. Only Weiss could respond, but she held in her comment as Cole's glare grew to include her.

Cole took a deep breathe, friends. Theses were to be his friends, but that didn't mean he would allow that to go unpunished, he'll just deal with it later.

"I assume you had a reason for blowing up my friends' Bar?

She glanced at Ruby as she replied in a low voice "I had a reason alright"

Cole kept silence, thinking she'd continue. After a moment he realized she wouldn't "I'll hear them later then, it was nice seeing you, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, but alas, it's bed time" he said, making my way to the unofficial Boy's side. He'll work on them, can't make friends with people immediately, but it'll all work out

It has to

* * *

Okay people, this is it. Volume 1 has officially started and I'm already struggling. I can only pray I'm portraying the characters right and I feel like I already butchered Yang and Blake. Weiss' stuck up nature and Ruby's cuteness and naivety is much easier. So is Jaune (who is my favorite character) and Ozpin who for some reason I see as the nice Dumbledore with a sense of humor.

Cole's training outfit was mentioned but not described yet. That was on purpose

His fighting outfits weren't shown or mentioned either, but most of his weapons are now public:

He dual wields swords that shift into a bow, and has 4 shotgun limbs.

Now the question is how he uses them all at the same time. answer? When we come back! Yeah, that's right, I'm a prick that leaves un answered questions. Deal with it.

Wing Suit. Thank you "JUST CAUSE 3" for this lovely idea. Combined with dust should give me near perfect flight…well near enough anyways

Ah Season 5. Did you see the early showing? I did! I caved and bought the tickets immediately after getting the email. It looks Amazing! Sadly, this leaves me with a problem though.

I will not be mentioning V5 at all. It will not exist in this fic and I won't address it at all until the final episode goes full public. I may change the fic, and update it to include V5 after it does though. Whether or not I keep "Black and White" or rewrite the whole thing depends on you readers. When I get as far as I've planned I'll make a poll to see if anyone wants a rewrite or a remake instead. The difference being a rewrite will take the place of the old, while a remake makes a whole new fic, same concept with a different name.

But that's later. Anyone who wants to discuss V5 can PM me and I'll get back to you ASAP

Fav, Follow and Review and I'll see you next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7 First Step

Chapter 7

"words" 'thoughts'

I do not own RWBY or any characters. So far only the Bianco family is mine

* * *

Waking up has always been a challenge to Cole. Training often involved a hydraulic system designed to literally throw him from his bed to get him started on the day ('the laughs when my parents found out haunt me to this day'). Fortunately, it seems that something will be taking that machine's place

This 'something' shall henceforth be named Nora

He didn't spot the duo the night before but having her step on his head while she woke up Ren was a surprisingly effective way to start any day.

"Ouch" no life should be active this early in the morning. Getting up he saw her fretting over the green clothed ninja. She seemed oblivious to the fact she totally stepped on his god damn FACE! Ren, on the other hand, notice Cole's glare ('and maybe the foot print over my eyes').

"Our apologies for the abrupt awakening," he says. That does little to ease his irritation. "she's a little anxious about initiation this morning" that does a little more as Nora finally realizes what she's done.

"Whoops, sorry about using your face as a spring board!" ah, bubbly Nora. Cole takes a deep breath, it was too early for this bull.

"Shower" Cole says as he gets up and begins to stumble away. He gets about two steps before he turns back to them "Cole, by the way. Good morning"

"And you, I am Lie Ren"

"And Nora!"

She's waking people up all around them, so he just nods and make his getaway, waking a little more with every step.

Cole always goes for a shower, can't wake up without one. After that though, He made his way to the cafeteria. If there was one thing Beacon didn't skimp out on, it was food. Growing fighters of the world needed good nutrition. For their growing bodies and muscle growth.

Cole's meal wasn't anything special. Waffles, eggs and some fruit, what surprised him, though, was the coffee he tried getting. It was generic coffee from who knows where.

Where the hell was the Bianco coffee? He knew there was some here, Ozpin ordered enough to run the school, and payed enough to send Cole and his eight brothers and sisters' schooling a few times over.

Hell, Ozpin was the main reason for the extra three fields and the extra farmhands needed to maintain them.

The look on Cole's face must have been there for a while as a familiar red and gold duo sat across from him.

"Hey Cole, what's up"

"Ruby…Yang" He finally put the mug down ('and scooted it away from me') before starting on his cooling breakfast. "They order special coffee from my family's farm…but this slop isn't it." He says, passing it to her. She looks at it with a grimace. What? Bianco custom doesn't need anything, so he takes it black. "by the way, Yang?"

"Hm?" looks like she shares in his morning views. Still, he hopes she appreciates this.

"I'm sorry about last night. It was rude of me to assume you had ill intent against my friends" his pride. It stings

"Oh" she said, a bit surprised, Cole doesn't entirely blame her.

"Don't get me wrong, you still reacted badly by basically throwing a tantrum, one I will make sure you pay for. Still, I shouldn't have called you out like I did" she was waking up with every word. "So, I found a way we can settle both, if you're interested"

Finally, wide awake, yang gives Cole a look before asking, "what did you have in mind?"

"A one on one match in the sparing ring. I win, you have to come back to the club and apologize for what you did. I already covered the repair costs, but that was money I could have needed later, so you find a way to pay back at least half"

Her eyes went wide, "You paid to fix that place up?"

Cole shrugged, "I like the place, and they're my friends…also they don't know it was me, let's keep it that way."

Yang's eye's narrowed, "and what if I win"

Once again, time to tip his hand. "I dig around for that info you were looking for".

She went still, and Ruby shuffled uncomfortably. Cole may have to sell himself a bit, "Junior has his sources, and they're mostly reliable sources honestly, but my curiosity has led me to some weird places. I can probably find whatever your- "

"Deal" she said, closing her eyes and looking away. She's probably didn't have many people who know about her mission to find Raven, much less actually want to help. Not that Cole blames them. Who trusts bandit tribes

"Okay then" they finish eating and as they're walking to the lockers, Cole turns to them and breaks the tension with a smile, "so you two ready for this?"

They bounce back quick and both give Cole an excited look. They walk past Jaune, who looks like he's trying to decide something. He was eyeing Weiss and a redhead with a crown. Smiling, Cole taps his shoulder and gives him a quick good luck and he went over to try his hand…poor sap

"Yeah, no more awkward small talk or getting to know you stuff. Today I get to do my sweetheart do the talking" she said, caressing the deadly weapon as if it were her child.

That should be more wrong than it looks, but she pulls it off.

Cole gets his swords from his locker (conveniently on the opposite wall) and hesitates. Should he bring both sets? Yeah, even first year missions can be dangerous…

He's putting on his last gauntlet when he catches the last bit of Yang's sentence "Maybe you should be on someone else's team"

"My dear sister Yang. Are you implying you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"

"What? No. of course I do I just thought… I don't know maybe it would help you break out of your shell" she broke eye contact and their eyes met.

If only he had better reflexes. "maybe you could be on Cole's team, he's a good friend" smart, throwing him under the buss would make him look like a jerk if he tried to weasel his way out of it...

"Maybe", he said with a smile. "Teams have four members, so who know. Maybe we'll all be on a team"

Ruby gives him a smile before noticing his attire "That's not what you wore yesterday. Is that your combat gear?"

Cole spread his arms to show it off, Cannon showed very little in the way of armor besides exceptions like Cardin, Jaune and Pyrrha. Even now, Huntsmen in armor just wasn't common. So, seeing Cole in black and white leather outfit was a bit odd. He has black shin guards on both legs, just above his black shotgun boots and white guards on both shoulders, placed to avoid restrictions. His pants are black with white straps on the outer sections near each knee and a black and white hard leather chest plate. It wasn't much, but it was protection without restricting his ability to dodge. Both swords hung by his waist in white and black scabbards with an extended quiver of arrows on his back.

"what you saw yesterday was my training outfit. The whole inside is coated with gravity dust weighing it self past 350 pounds. Passive resistance training to the extreme, with a heavier active mode when I need it to. I am never not training"

Both girls' eyes went wide. "you have two weapon sets, and two outfits?" asked the little reaper

"Five if you include the school uniform and my pajamas,", he corrected, "I call my last one my war attire, and you will never see it if I have anything to say about it"

Yang gave him an odd look and Ruby became concerned, right as the speaker cracked to life

They make their way to the cliffs, collecting Jaune along the way, and repeating his description when Jaune questioning look appeared. Cole noticed Ruby's eyes drifted to his swords and he couldn't help but smile, "yeah, these are the same swords from that night."

"This is Set 1?" She said, stepping closer.

"Yep" he said, drawing both swords with a flourish then shifting them to his bow form. "it's simple, and deadly when used with the dust arrows I have. Paz and Guerra are my main".

Yang motion to the wristbands on his hand, "so if you use swords, what are those?"

Cole put the swords away and activate his gauntlets "Set 2, shotgun gauntlets. Lágrimas de Dios. If I wasn't me, using these would be impossible."

Yang gives him an incredulous look as Ruby tries to ogle his swords. Reluctantly, Cole unsheathe and hands one to her. It's a straightforward design, just reinforced with excellent material whose name Cole doesn't remember, just that it took a lot of Naruto money to find. It took so many iteration and remakes because he kept tweaking the design to make sure it wouldn't break drawing his more dangerous arrows. The gravity one alone, kinda like a distant singularity bomb, snapped the first eight versions like twigs.

"You use shotgun gauntlets too?"

"That's right, Ruby mentioned you use shotgun weapons." he says gesturing to her wrists, "it's a fantastic way to get up close and personal."

Cole looks down, surprised that Ruby's still so close while she drools over the sword "Let me guess, you have ideas, huh?" he asks, bemused at her judging eyes. He had professionals take a look at it, but Ruby is a whole new type of expert.

"Maybe a few" she asked, embarrassingly running her hand through her hair

He just nod, who is he to argue against this adorable weapon smith, "Same as before. I'll foot the bill"

She nods and suddenly Yang!

'I say that because suddenly she's, like, right between us both.'

"Taking out my sister? Without consulting me? I'm shocked" she says, feigning a tear. Cole laughs, whether it's at her action or Ruby's sudden blush he couldn't tell you.

"I'm just getting weapon's advice. Have you seen her scythe? She knows her stuff"

She gets an odd look, but Cole doesn't stick around to find out what it meant.

"See you all at the cliffs!" and exit, stage…whatever.

Cole makes it there and heads straight to the headmaster. He nods, "Mr. Bianco, could your landing strategy keep you in the air after every student?"

Cole does some quick guess work, "Yeah, but I'd have to use a few Dust shots to give myself a boost." his work in Dust ammunition didn't stop at arrows, although they were his main. He had a few types of shotgun shells in the false bottom of his quiver. In the air, it would be the best way to keep his maneuverability.

Ozpin nods and motions for Cole near the end of the First quarter of students. Looks like he would be flying for a while…dammit. High altitudes get cold after a while.

This far he missed a good chunk of his speech, but down the line he hears the most unmistakable sound of Ruby's dreams being crushed.

He felt a bit guilty laughing at it, but he bends his knees and loads two wind shots in every part of Set 2.

Ready, his neighbor shoots off.

Set, his platforms clicks ready

GO!

His shots hit the moment the spring goes off and he can only hope the forest is ready for another round with him.

* * *

This chapter was written right after the last

V5 has me inspired, one episode in and I already wrote more than I usually do.

I still don't know if I'm portraying Yang right (I suck at puns, my mind isn't quick enough for it)

Why didn't Cole help Jaune with Pyrrha? I need her to save him. It's why they're gonna have to deal with the deathstalker later. JNPR needs to be born before I help raise it. It's why I dashed Blakes desire to keep Cole quiet by being his partner. I have to get her to Choose Yang.

Why did I wake Cole with a foot to the face? Because I wanted to. He has four little brothers and four little sisters. He's used to it.

I am not fashion conscious. I do not care about outfits. If anyone wants to correct me, leave me a review and I'll have Weiss lecture him on the importance of clothing or something. I would truly appreciate this enough for a name drop, maybe even a scene with an OC of your choosing.

There's a reason I wear the same outfits eight days in a row, I have eight of the same shirts with no variations. If it works, I work it to the ground until someone says it doesn't. I have no eye for fashion. Have I made my point?

Fav, Follow and Review and I'll see you next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8 Emerald Forest

Chapter 8 Emerald Forest

"words" 'thoughts'

I do not own RWBY or any characters. So far only the Bianco family is mine

So…it just occurred to me I finished the last chapter early…I honestly didn't notice…I'm actually embarrassed… Now on with the show!

You'd think with motion sickness flying would be the worst thing in the world for Cole…he would too…this makes no sense to anyone.

Apparently, Cole suffers like Natsu Dragoneel. So long as he's not using a machine he's fine…don't question the logic, he doesn't get it either.

Drifting like he was is almost peaceful, which made the contrast of Ruby killing a crow midflight just so much funnier. As he saw the rest of the teams start to land, he was pleased to see Pyrrha nail Jaune to a tree ('could I put that better? Yeah. Will I? No'). Barely dodging Yang as she blasts herself onward.

Weiss and Ren landed as expected, but he was surprised to see Blake disappear in the forest nearly immediately after getting launched. Disappearing like that quick takes skill

Cole shifted his attention to the quickly approaching trees. He was getting too low, 'if only for appearance sake', he had to get more air. So, with a practiced quick shut, he shot down with wind Dust from his boots and shot back with his arm shots. The lift was a little less than expected, but enough to clear the next few hundred feet.

He took note of the Forest temple, memorizing its direction before collapsing his left wing and hooked his sword and launched it around a particularly tall tree. Using it as a fixed point, he swung and used his second to anchor right into the tree.

"God, Spinning was a bad idea" He nearly lost the directions. Looking around He notice someone going in circles under his tree. Grinning, he lowered himself a bit, seeing a familiar red girl and a crabby white princess.

"Well, you two seem to be having fun"

Note, startling two twitchy huntresses…not Cole's best idea.

He barely dodged an ice spear, only to have a bullet knock him out of the tree.

"Ow, falling hurts"

"Cole!" He looks up to see a worried Ruby, scythe out looking very guilty.

"Are you insane!" ah, she can act crabby, but Cole noticed the concern in Weiss' voice

"Yeah, not my best move" He says, rising from his impromptu trip, tugging his sword from the tree and reeling it back in. He looks up and smile at the two first years, "so, you're both partners, huh? Nice, pairing quality with quality"

Weiss gave him a disbelieving look, "quality, her?"

Cole glares at her, finally straightening up "Ruby Rose was verified, and accepted two years earlier than any other student here, by Ozpin himself. If she didn't have the skill to be here, she wouldn't be"

She looked at Cole surprised as he looked to Ruby, suddenly shy as his attention shifted to her "He said you are here because you deserve to be here."

They both stare at him as he lean back on his tree. "So, Temple. Ideas".

The stare continues, and he sighs. "Last I checked it was…that way"

Weiss glares at him again, "and how sure are you?"

He pauses. He spun half a dozen times from the tree to the ground…he may be a bit more lost than he cares to admit.

"I'll check, give me a sec." he hooks his sword. He jumps before tossing it back up his tree…only to hear a high shriek

"…well, I'm screwed" he hooked the goddamn Nevermore

Ruby snags him and Weiss and neither of them has the time to question why before they get dragged into the sky.

Reacting as quick as he could, he grabs hold of them and smack the spool on his back, winding them closer before it has the chance to toss them off.

"Well, this is one way to travel!" He shouts over the wind. The closer they get to the giant bird, the faster they seemed to be going, but the steadier they got. Getting to the damn thing got easier as they went on until they were clinging to its side, his sword and line over the damn thing's neck.

"Why would you bring us up here?" Screamed Weiss, and Ruby beat him to it.

"This way we can see the whole forest!" a woman after his heart.

Cole tosses the other line around the big bird's neck and climbed up, taking both with him until they were square on its back.

"Weiss, Ruby. Are your landing strategies still valid?" it's gonna be close.

He turns from his make-shift reigns to see their eyes widen. Looks like they weren't planning a smooth dismount. Eyes rolling, he pulls back both lines and loaded a few wind shots into his mounted weapons. He can't carry them both…not without using his semblance.

'Whatever, it was never a secret from them.'

He made his way to the Grimm's head, flaring his aura as his perspective shifted like the worst case of double vision.

Then there were two of him. In a way that still confuses everyone he knows, his semblance splits him in two, aura and strength, with one exception.

Both halves are opposite colors. One is black, one is white '…damn this color crap! It's not even clever…' it does, however, make him the best multitasker he knows. With practice he's been able to make sure each has their own set of weapons. His semblance is the only reason he spent any time on a separate set of weapons to begin with. Bianco has **Paz and Guerra**. Jet has **Lágrimas de Dios**.

Jet dashes forward and put Ruby on his back, while Bianco took Weiss in his arms. Within seconds they were off the Nevermore. Jet snapped his wings out thirty feet down, slowing himself enough to land safely.

Bianco had a different problem. While he didn't mind rough landings, Weiss might. So, blasting himself eight times side to side isn't an option. Free falling through the air, he waited for the last 15 feet off the ground before throwing Weiss up, canceling her momentum. Or that was the plan…

Until a certain blonde armored jerk decided to crash into him.

"Damn, hurt" Mutters Jet, having turned to take the bulk of the impact on his back, sparing Weiss the worse. Our flying blonde hung from the branch above them as Bianco drifted to the ground.

Bianco winced as he saw them make a crater in the tree. "5 Lien says that will still hurt when we rejoin".

"Rejoin? Says Ruby, as he puts her back on the ground.

"One moment." He says, making out way to the tree that has our friends in it. Bianco, now recovered, jumps down, Weiss still in his arms, and places her against the tree before looking up at the familiar blonde. "You okay Jaune?"

"Hey, Cole. Yeah, just hanging"

They laugh, as Weiss finally gets the sense to scream "why would you jump off? And how did you…"

"This is our semblance, to divide ourselves. We don't really get it, but this is our power. Now, we can't exactly explain it right now. We got to go"

"And why not?!" she screamed, guess she was grumpier than They thought

"We're in, what I would call, enemy territory, that's why" said Bianco, looking at the black and yellow audience they attracted

"Ruby!" cried Yang. She and Blake were at the temple already, there long enough to snag the gold Knight, they noticed. Ruby ran to Yang and both Coles made their way to Blake.

"Did you have any problems?" asked Jet while Bianco gave Weiss a nervous smile.

"Not as much as you did" said Blake, looking from White to Black. She raised her eye brow and Jet snagged Bianco around the neck.

"Like we said," starts White

"Later" finishes Black focusing on the explosion that was Nora's entrance.

'You know, she's not a bad singer' they thought as she darted to the Rook, singing her lungs out.

Bianco greeted Ren as Jet waved at Nora, right on time for Pyrrha's entrances. Although the rest focused on the big ass Deathstalker on her tail.

Jet sent an arrow between the grimm and its prey and both future teams were shocked as a large earth spike knocked the stalker on its side.

"We can buy you all a few minutes" said Jet, activating his gauntlets and facing the recovering grimm.

"But you should all get your relics," finished Bianco, reaching for an arrow and looks back in time to see Ruby launch herself at the monster.

"Ruby/wait!" honestly that could have been either Coles or Yang (or all three)

Ruby dashed towards the grimm, bouncing off its claw before going for its eyes with Crescent Rose. A screech pierced the air and Ruby barely dodged the feather that then pinned her to the ground.

The death stalker could have finished the fight right there, if it weren't for the two ice walls that sprouted, trapping the death stalker in place.

"That was", started Jet, now next Ruby, new arrow knocked, and eyes focused on their ice locked opponent

"too close, finished Bianco, removing the feather.

"you are so childish" said Weiss, drawing her sword from where her wall had appeared.

"Cole" said Ruby, stunned she was still alive. "Weiss"

Listening to Weiss' speech was painful, but knowing it would help, both Cole's remained silent as the future partners made peace for now. The four returned to the temple as Yang went over Ruby for any wound she may have had.

Coles 1&2 kept an eye out as each teams talked, the nevermore overhead made both twitch, but both thought the ice around the death stalker bay actually hold this time.

'we got the whole thing, not just a claw. We may have killed it' they thought joining the others.

"what about your relic, er…Cole"

"I'm Jet" said the black one, "and don't worry about us"

"I'm sticking with Bianco, and we have our own mission here" said the white one with a smile.

Blake gave us a questioning look and before she could say anything, Jet shook his head "now Blake, we already told Jaune."

"No spoilers" finished Bianco, each Cole turned to the future leaders. "so, you decided?"

"the mission is getting the Relic, not killing grimm" said Ruby

"So, we're going back to the cliffs" finished Jaune.

Both Cole's nod and peeked out, the deathstalker was still encased, but the ice was beginning to shake, while the nevermore nearly made its way back, "then we should probably go now."

Nods all around as the students made their way out and the Coles smiled at both teams, they had made that decision themselves, no help from him.

'I hoped they continue that trend' he thought, as he flipped the switch on the second arrow he shot, activating the fire dust, freeing the deathstalker, before disappearing into the forest.

* * *

Staying static was painful as the teams fought for their lives, but he stayed silent as both teams finished off their grimm. He hated that he had to put them through this, but the teams had to develop together. He could help them afterwards, but they had to make their roles on their own.

'what I've changed might already screw this up, I can't afford to remove their formative victory.'

The stress made their victory all the sweeter as he saw Ruby climbing the cliff, nevermore in tow as with a roar she removed its head from its slowly evaporating body.

He applauded them from the forest, startling the deathstalker team into aiming their weapons at him. "Easy! Bullets tend to hurt, aura or not"

"Cole! What happened, where'd you go?" questioned a grumpy Jaune, re-sheathing his sword as the rest put away their weapons. What will soon be team RWBY noticed and came as close to the edge as they could, trying to hear what was going on

"Oddly enough, we were doing our job" said Jet, sliding down the tree off his line. "and it's still Jet for now"

Bianco, having glided from the tallest tree he could find, shooting a line to one the few pillars, bringing him to what was left of the ruin before collapsing to the ground. "and we're barely finishing with any time to spare. Hurry up Jet." He finished, stabilizing himself and shooting his second line to his other, who attached it to Jaune before Bianco pulled the Knight over the gap.

One by one, the two Coles brought the future Team JNPR to the ruins, before using the same trick up the cliffs and collapsing together after the last of them made it up (Weiss, in case you were wondering.)

"made it", wheezed Jet, pale and tired. "we may have pushed it a bit far"

"You didn't even fight with us, how are you this exhausted" questioned Weiss,

"we split our physical strength, our stamina, our aura. "explained Bianco, drawing close to Jet.

"but when we rejoin, Cole will feel the entirety of our pain, every wear and tear we did to ourselves as if it were completely new to him." Helping his other half up and starting his way back to the main cliffs.

"course we couldn't be a huntsman if he couldn't take it, but…"

"taking off the seal would have been a great idea before we split." Lamented Bianco as he and Jet laughed at their future selves' gpain.

"Seal?" questioned Pyrrha as the rest of the teams followed the aching duo

"Cole is always training, always has himself weighed down to make his body acclimate to fighting with a handicap." Explained Jet

"like his training outfit?" asked Ruby

"Weighted and restrictive, making him move slower forcing him to get faster to compensate". Affirmed Bianco.

"So, what's the seal?" asked Jaune.

"A seal limits the amount of aura one can use" explains Weiss, who is shocked when both Coles chuckle.

"Normal ones do anyways"

"Ours is worse"

"Cole wanted a way to increase his aura recovery rate"

"So, his passively drains Aura instead"

The teams look at the two as if they had lost their minds

"He drains his aura" asked a stunned Ren

"Started with a small drain" said Jet, "then more when the crazy bastard's idea worked"

"Cole increased his recovery quite a bit when he's whole" said Bianco, "but ours only increased a little"

"Which means we have near zero right now" said Jet, stumbling as he leans on his other half. "We're about as useful as a civilian right now. We picked a hell of a time to increase the drain, ugh."

"Can't you just rejoin?" asked Blake?

Jet looked around at the concerned looks on everyone's face as Bianco said, "Yeah but it'd hurt."

"Cole would feel everything that happened to us"

"All at once"

"We were hoping to heal a bit"

"You two can't even walk straight." Pointed out Yang

"You're just grumpy we give you the worse case of double vision" grumbled Jet.

"That is concerning as well". Admitted Weiss.

Both Coles gave her a glare before stepping _into_ each other, leaving the singular Cole standing there, before promptly collapsing to the ground, unmoving.

* * *

*sigh*I meant to get this out a month after the last, then I noticed I had to rewrite most of the last ones.

That killed my motivation to write, but dammit I want this out now! I'm turning into one of those authors that promises another chapter then drops off the face of the planet. Damn.

Still, at least I finished the story…completely…killed off my main character during initiation…yep

Anyone who believes that should get their head checked

I'll start the next chapter tomorrow, I don't have a schedule, but I'll try to get it out soon

Comment fav or follow as each is a precious thing to me that I value way more than I should, seriously

And I will see you in the next chapter!

LATERS!


	9. Chapter 9 New Teams

Chapter 9

"words" 'thoughts'

I do not own RWBY or any characters. So far only the Bianco family and team MSTC are mine

* * *

The group froze, unsure of the still form on the ground until they all heard an audible groan.

"Life sucks" said the singular Cole, struggling to his feet and rubbing his neck. "We should know better than to leave a handicap before going on a mission"

"You gonna be okay?" asked Jaune.

"I hurt, but this won't kill us." Said Cole

"So, where is your seal anyways?"

"What was your mission?"

Cole looked at Ruby and Weiss who had asked the questions respectably "Mission is classified…for another hour or so, so no spoilers, and as for my seal" he pull the neck of his shirt, showing a keyhole design on a metal plate strapped to the back of his neck.

Ruby poked the seal before Blake pulled him aside, "Does this mission have anything to do with- "

"Blake, as said before: **NO SPOILERS** "

She flinched as Cole stepped away, shaking his head with a grin. Noticing Yang's curious look, he shrugged, "you wouldn't want someone to spoil a show or book, would you? Besides, you'll all find out later anyways".

That was the last thing said as they approached the professors who had been waiting on them. Cole smiled, sheepishly, "they aren't the last ones, are they?"

"There are still others" explained Ozpin, who had taken the time to sip his coffee ('more Bianco custom…lucky bastard') "although, most stop to speculate about all the damage done to what used to be a preserved temple ruin"

Cole recognized the jab and felt guilty for letting the fight get out of hand before remembering they would have gotten destroyed anyways. He was about to apologize, however, before noticing the thermos being held out to him.

"Still, better the ruins than our students. Well done."

* * *

Cole nursed his coffee until they all reached the auditorium. Then chugged it when he was told to join the headmaster on stage.

Wincing, Cole let his mind wander as one by one the teams formed and leaders named. He tuned back in in time to see Jaune getting call up and caught him when Pyrrha launched her new leader by accident.

"Last time dude, you'll see why in a minute"

Ignoring is confused, slightly hurt, look, Cole turned as Team RWBY made their way to the stage. They stood as proud as all the other teams before them, and their surprised look at who had been named their leader was forever etched into the mind of our split huntsman

('and the recording he took would be the source of much teasing later on, much to Weiss' discomfort')

He laughed as Yang jumped on her little sister then turned when he noticed the wizard's gaze.

"Are we going to make an announcement of my choice?"

"We could, if you'd like".

Cole thought for a moment before shaking his head, "it's best not to let it get to their heads. A few want to stay out of the limelight, and we'd like our peace as well. Besides, it'd only be fair to give both my choices the choice to say no"

Ozpin nodded, "would you like to call them to my office?"

Cole shook his head, "a class nearby would work, better to get this over with soon. Professor Port's is near I think"

Ozpin nodded and retreated, likely making his way to the mention class room before Cole turned to snag both JNPR and RWBY's leaders. "Jaune, Ruby, both got a sec?"

Both nodded and Cole lead the teams to the nearby class room. Inside was the expected Ozpin and the slightly less expected Goodwitch. "I'm glad you all could make it. I have an offer for both of you, both teams to be exact"

Ozpin mirrored his thanks and stepped forward to take the lead, "as you know, students of Beacon are always set within teams of four to encourage growth and team work within and between huntsman who may or may not find themselves fighting, either unexpectedly in the field or in prearranged parties. However, although he qualifies beyond his second-year status, perhaps even a third-year status after his training and experience gained through his secondary employment (don't think we haven't noticed), Mr. Bianco is without a team of his own. Refusing to lose such a dedicated alumni, we have seen fit to reinstate the Beacon manager position, allowing Mr. Bianco a chance to graduate while further training one or two teams of our prestigious academy."

The teams look to Cole, who was embarrassed that he had been caught. Even Blake who knew part of this arrangement, was surprised as he smiled back at them. "My mission was to go into the forest and observe you all, weighing pros and cons with who to train and how. I was very impressed with how you all handled yourselves"

Cole let them enjoy that feeling of pride, it'd make what he said next all the better: "but I also saw plenty of room for improvement, places of refinement, and potential that either you've been misusing, or have been unaware of.". Cole drank in their shocked looks before laughing "however, I also realized that making the decision for you would have been a rude one to make: so here it is, this is your chance to walk away. Beacon will happily accept you, you could all still grow to become amazing Huntsmen and huntresses, nothing I say can change this possibility. But if you accept me as your manager, I swear that even though you may grow to hate me, I will make you the strongest you possible. This I swear as a Bianco"

The teams looked at each other, some nervous, others curious. "What would you do, as our manager", asked Jaune. The strategist looking for some info before deciding. Not bad.

"I'd be in charge of training, training methods, sparing and extra studies if I see fit." Cole explained. "I know Ruby was admitted early, so there are two years I have to help her make up," he said nodding to the horrorstruck reaper. "I have access to tech that will help you study yourselves and access to funds that could take our training off school grounds entirely, with the Headmaster's permission."

Cole saw the old man about to deny this before he zoomed up close to the ear away from the witch in the room "Bianco custom, fresh from mom's farm"

That shut him up entirely, though he did cover it with another swig of his mug. Cole turned back to the teens, happy to see each was taking the offer seriously. Looking the time Cole turned back to the teachers and asked, "do they have to answer now, or can they decide tomorrow"?

"Teams with a manager have special dorm with their own bathrooms, their own closet, and seeing as there are only two, you will have an extra room that will not be in use, so you could use it for storage"

"We accept"

Cole was barely hanging on to his laughter as both Yang and Weiss barreled through the rest of their team, likely imagining the extra room they'll be getting from the deal. Cole recovered, and was happy to see Ruby and Blake not trying too hard to calm the duo down. 'this team is growing together fast.'

"We accept too," they were sweet words from the new leader of JNPR. They had taken only a little longer to make their decision, but Cole saw they were barely making half and attempts too.

"then that's settled. Sooner than expected, honestly" said Cole, whispering the last part

Directions were sent to their scrolls and the teams met up at the dorms, set up for 3 teams and their manager.

Cole laughed at the team's reactions, the accommodations much nicer than the dorms, they saw a common room, complete with kitchen and island counter and sitting area ('so gonna put a tv there') there was a larger dinning table opposite the kitchen. There were two rooms branching off the main area with a hallway near the back, likely for the other two teams.

"Team RWBY, JNPR take the rooms in the back. We can use this left door for storage."

"And you'll take the right room?" asked Ruby, the teams moving already to occupy their rooms.

"Yep, and after you settle in, group meeting, both teams"

Cole entered his room, happy he had already switched the lock for an aura scanner and brought his luggage ahead of time. he removed his gear and switched to his sleep wear before returning to the common room with both set one and two. He would have to clean them before turning in for the night. The pain of being a walking armory.

Both teams ended up walking in while both Coles were grumbling over weapon maintenance.

"Ah there you are" they said together, before glaring at each other and setting aside their burdens. Within seconds they remixed, and a single Cole smiled at the teams with his hands clapped. "Now before we turn in for the night, I wanted to know if there were anything we need to iron out. Any rules we could agree to before we have to deal with-" Taking a peek at the teams' schedule. "Port tomorrow at 9"

There were more than a few suggestions, although not as many as Cole thought there would be. 'could have something to do with Nora and Ren asleep on each other's shoulder or Weiss swaying back and forth'.

Seeing them practically comatose, Cole made to send them away before remembering he still had a few things to do. "That'll do for now, goodnight everyone. Leaders stay." Cole said, wincing as he caught their matching groans. Waiting for the rest to leave, Cole turned to the leaders, "I am sorry to keep you up, but I'll be brief. You both have extra responsibilities, as leaders. Responsibilities I have faith you both can and will do. That said, you don't have to do this alone. The three of us share this burden, although both of you will bring out the best in your team, I am here to help you from training, to field work. You both will also have extra studies too. Ruby, you were brought two years early, but I can make a schedule so that we can go over those without having you burn out." Cole said to the young Reaper. She looked nervous, but Cole was sure she could handle it. "Jaune, I noticed you need some extra training. We can go over PT easily. You'll be able to go one on two with me before you know it"

"isn't it supposed to be one on one?" Cole split again and Jaune rolled his eyes "oh, ha ha" he deadpanned.

"One last thing, before you go." Cole lead them to his room and passing them the two rubix cube like boxes on one of his desks. "This is a data cube. It's like a scroll, but twenty times better." He motioned to his cube, a black and white box with his symbol at his waist. It lit up instantly and flashed a projection on the wall in front of them. Numbers and images flashed out, words and sounds playing oddly before returning to his hand, holding it out to the stunned teens.

"it has records, videos and archives of almost every huntsman and huntress to graduate Beacon, can record audio and video in hologram, although, that does heat it up a bit, and news from every station in Vale…and some in Anima, connectivity every scroll dreams of and features that would make your head spin"

Jaune looked amazed at his box as Ruby gushed over hers. "How do you-"

"Just extend your Aura, like you would to strengthen your attack" the moment Cole finished, Ruby's glowed a bloody red before darkening. "Just like that, the cubes will work for anyone who gets one, but each has a personal mode made for its owner"

Ruby oo'd before a message box opened asking for a password. "If it only works for me, why does it need a password?" she asked as Jaune struggled with his box.

"You two are the first ones getting a data cube for now, eventually everyone from both teams will have one, so I wanted to make sure anything you guys want to put in your cube that's classified can't be accessed by other cubes. Think of it like having your own room in the dorm, everyone has the common room, but this is a private place for either of us, and an even more restricted area, just for you. That said, don't twist any side or faces. That causes a hard lock and you shouldn't do it unless you can solve it"

Ruby looked at her cube with even more awe, the expression being the last thing Cole saw as he sent her out, before turning to the focused blonde. "Focus on a spot in your chest, just above your heart."

Jaune's eyes darted to his before returning to the cube, "Feel for that spot, let the energy within flow through your body" Jaune glowed a bright white, forcing Cole to slip on a pair of underused sunglasses. "swirl that energy around your body, down your chest into your legs and back, down to your arms and back" Cole saw as it flowed down his arm, enough got through to the cube to activate it, turning it the same shade of white that slowly disappeared into the knight's chest.

"Did you hear the explanation I gave Ruby?" Jaune nodded. "Then that's it. Just one last thing."

Jaune looked confused and Cole felt guilty. He couldn't think of an easier way to do this, so blunt was going to have to work. "I know about your transcripts"

For a moment Cole wondered if he remembered to turn on the camera that he had pointed at Jaune's face. Then he thought he had broken the poor knight. "I know, it took me a few seconds after we met to look them up, and most of today to figure it out"

The knight straightened out "Please don't tell Ozpin"

Cole laughed, "Me? Tell him? Jaune, what makes you think he doesn't know?"

Jaune looked dumbstruck "Wait he knows?!"

Cole tried to straighten up, but only managed to lean on his desk, "Jaune it took me a day to poke holes in your transcripts, he's had them weeks? How long ago did you send them?"

"a month"

"He knows, I'd bet my data cube. And believe me, yours can do some fancy tricks, but mine doesn't have even a quarter of the limiters I put on yours"

Jaune looked shaky, so Cole passed him a desk chair. "Jaune tell me, exactly how much training do you have?"

Jaune looked down and with barely a mutter he answered "a few months"

Cole blinked. For someone practically a civilian, he wasn't bad. Not exactly the base Zero he feared.

'Better than expected, not as good as could be'

"Well than, Mr. Jaune Arc. It's time to shape up!"

Jaune's head snapped up as Cole made his way to his closet. "within the last few months you went from civilian to barely a huntsman in training," said Cole ignoring the _hey_ Jaune sent his way. With a flourish Cole brought out an outfit, similar to the one he wore during the welcoming speech, "within the next few months I'm going to turn you from just barely a huntsman, into one of the best first years we've had since Team MSTC"

Cole slammed the outfit into the confused knight. "This is my first gravity dust training outfit. The dial by the collar turns up the weight on the outfit, and you'll be starting where you can barely stand until you stop feeling it…after we have it sized for you." Cole finished sheepishly as the outfit was currently smaller than either men in the room. "I'll get your PT up to snuff, and we'll worry about technique later. Now get outta my room. I got to pass out for the night" finished Cole, eyeing the clock that barely said Seven ('mission days wear a person out!')

Jaune made to leave before turning to Cole, "So about my onesie"

"if I see it, I burn it"

"Got it"

As he left Cole sat as his desk, pulling out what would soon be the last of the data cubes, having started towards the beginning of summer, he'd give the others out next month, or as soon as he saw the leaders master theirs, whichever came first. As he worked his other split to continue maintenance and both waited for the knock that eventually came. "open door"

As their guest stepped inside and looked at the two, both preoccupied, she wondered which she should turn to, before the one at the closer desk answered for her, "Hello there Ms. Belladonna, you're a bit later than we expected. can we help you?"

Blake stood nervous, she expected him to be alone, although this wasn't what she had in mind. "It's about my past"

Both Cole's grunted, but it was the one doing maintenance (on a gauntlet, because Dust is so hard to remove from its nooks and crannies "we already said we wouldn't tell"

Alternating out of shear habit, the one at the desk continued, "We have secrets of our own,"

"Secrets we don't want shared"

"So, we'll keep yours"

"Because it's not our place"

Blake switched from Cole to Cole, who both took a moment to give her a smile "although we do hope you'll come to trust them in time"

"Yes, even the Schnee"

"We will understand if you take your time in sharing"

Blake nodded and turned to leave, relieved but exhausted. Such things happened when you conversed with two people who share a mind.

"Blake" She turned, surprised to see one Cole standing between both desks, a sad smile on his face, "Don't wait too long to tell them. You might not know them yet, but you will. And knowing you kept the secret too long would hurt the friendship you are trying very hard to build. Yes, even with Weiss."

"You've defended her twice"

"She's dealt with plenty of crap most of her life. Targeted despite not being her father. She is not him, she just grew up near the bastard"

"And Jacques?"

Cole went silent, "That…is an entirely different discussion, for a different night. Just remember this Blake: No matter what you went through in the white fang, no matter what you grew up with, Beacon is a whole new chapter, probably a whole new book in a series. This story is what you make of it. Weiss may not be the character you expected, she may be someone you never though you'd meet, but she's your team mate".

"She wasn't thrilled she wasn't made Leader"

"…she may also be spoiled, but that may be something we will all work with. Who knows, this may be the first time a lot of us share room so…cramped"

"Have you seen the dorm rooms? there's actually a lot of room in there"

"With no walls between four women, good luck Blake. And good night"

Cole watched her leave and sighed. He'd love to be able to join the rest in their slumber, sadly his agreeing to be manager guaranteed one thing.

"Data cube bring up all combat files on Teams RWBY and JNPR"

Planning training for 8 teens. He would be going through many sleepless nights in the near future.

* * *

God dammit all, screw you lack of sleep! This chapter took way longer than I'd like to admit. I ended up having to make the dorms in minecraft to have a model to work with. It's a mixture of cannon RWBY and JNPR mixed with the Chibi common room and my own spin on the manager dorm.

The data cube idea came to me when I realized Cole would want something stronger that your typical scroll, something that says Fuck you to Cinder's virus. It's modeled after a Rubix cube and has a physical puzzle password that matches. Cole will hate himself for adding this function

These are the layers to the future data cube:

Team mode, which anyone from both teams can use,

Personal Mode, where only the person has access

leader mode, specific to Ruby and Jaune, which can override Personal Mode

Manager mode, Cole only,

and True name Protocol. *Classified*

deal with the teasing as it will stop when my heart does!

Thanks for reading, don't forget to Review, Favorite and Follow and I'll see you in the next chapter. Later!


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